TOP STORIES

• COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in Denmark following two Euro 2020 games in Copenhagen. Five fans who were in the Parken stadium to see Denmark play Belgium on June 17 have now tested positive. Four thousand fans who sat close to the five have been contacted and asked to take a test. The further cases add to two fans who tested positive after Denmark's game against Russia on June 21.

• A report from "campaigning community" organization Avaaz said social media companies are not doing enough to stop the spread of "toxic lies" around COVID-19 and the pandemic on popular sites such as Facebook and YouTube. The sites are "failing to act on 37 percent of the COVID-19 disinformation content," according to Avaaz.

• The Delta COVID-19 variant will become dominant in Germany in the coming weeks, according to the country's Health Minister Jens Spahn. "The Delta variant will have the upper hand over the summer, it's more a matter of weeks than months," he said on Friday morning. 

• However, Germany's consumers are feeling more and more optimistic, according to a new poll released by GfK. The public are still nervous about spending, but sentiment has improved drastically in the past month. The barometer read minus 6.9 in May, but since restaurants, shops and museums have been allowed to reopen, it now sits at -0.3. 

• The UK government has updated its travel list, which classifies other countries as "red," "amber," or "green" – with holiday destinations including Ibiza in Spain added to the "green" list, which means travelers do not have to isolate when they return. The transport ministry also added a "watch list," which will show travelers which destinations could be moved to a different list, to "improve transparency," according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. 

• In Israel, the health ministry has reinstated a mask mandate in closed and indoor public spaces. It comes as COVID-19 cases are "doubling every few days" according to a top health official. The mask mandate was dropped 10 days ago. Before then a combination of tough restrictions and a rapid vaccination program had pushed daily cases down towards zero.

• The number of daily cases in Belgium has dropped below 400, the lowest level since last July of last year and puts the country on course for further easing of restrictions.

• Gavi, the vaccine alliance that works with the World Health Organization on the Covax program, has approved $775 million to fund delivery of vaccines to poorer countries. The roll-out will take at least another year at the current rate, according to the announcement. 

• Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics next month, the head of the British Olympic Association admitted the team is still trying to "convince" several team members to receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. "People have got the right to choose, and we have to respect that. But it's not necessarily that helpful," Andy Anson told the BBC.

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AROUND EUROPE 

Toni Waterman in Brussels

European Union

EU leaders stressed the need to be "vigilant and coordinated" on the emergence and spread of COVID-19 variants at a two-day summit in Brussels. But in reality, they remain deeply divided over what exactly that means. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Emmanuel Macron blasted the likes of Greece, Portugal, and Spain, which have less stringent requirements in place for travelers arriving from countries such as the UK, where the highly transmissible Delta variant is dominant. 

Some countries are also welcoming tourists who have been vaccinated with non-EU-approved jabs such as Sputnik V and Sinopharm. According to reports, Merkel vented her frustration and pointed out that visitors can roam freely within the Schengen Area once inside the EU, potentially triggering another wave of infections. The warning is likely to do little to convince tourism-dependent economies to tighten the reins and impose quarantine measures. There is little appetite for another lost summer of tourism revenue. 

Belgium

The average number of new coronavirus infections dropped below 400 a day in Belgium, the lowest level since July of last year. It puts the country on the fast track to "green" status and a continued relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. 

On Sunday, phase II of Belgium's "summer plan" kicks in, allowing restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues to remain open until 1 a.m.. Up to eight people will be allowed at a single table. Indoor event venues also get a reprieve, with up to 2,000 people allowed at seated events and up to 2,500 outdoors. 

Penelope Liersch in Budapest 

The Hungarian government has announced masks will not be required in any setting once the country reaches 5.5 million first dose COVID-19 vaccinations, due to happen in the next five days. From then, immunity cards will no longer be required to enter hotels, restaurants, beaches or spas, but will still be needed for mass events. First dose vaccinations are currently at 5.45 million, while 4.7 million people have had a second dose. 

Three new cases of the Delta variant have been confirmed in Slovakia, all were yet to be vaccinated and were asymptomatic. The three people arrived from outside the EU and went into home quarantine. A total of four cases of the variant have been confirmed in Slovakia. 

Ross Cullen in Paris

A new cluster of COVID-19 Delta cases has been recorded in the Lower Rhine region in the east of the country. There are growing concerns over the mutation first identified in India but the overall numbers are falling fast in France. 

There are now fewer than 1,500 people in intensive care for the first time since last October. More than 20 million people have now had a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But the vaccination campaign is slowing – it is down from a high of a daily average of 400,000 doses at the start of June to around 200,000 doses a day this week.

Andrew Wilson in UK 

From June 30, travelers entering the UK from Spain's Balearic Islands, Madeira, Malta and Barbados won't need to quarantine – but France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal remain on the British amber list.

Meanwhile, pressure is growing in Europe to quarantine British travelers because of the increasing prevalence of the Delta variant in the country.

The government has again hinted that fully vaccinated travelers could be able to avoid quarantine but only "later in the summer."

The UK has now given a first vaccine dose to 64 percent of the population, including more than 80 percent of adults, which in terms of proportions, puts it ahead of Israel for the first time.

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded.