TOP HEADLINES 

• Graphic video images surfaced of Italian prison guards beating unarmed inmates with truncheons and fists in the aftermath of a coronavirus-related protest last year. National newspaper Domani says the violent scenes were filmed at the Santa Maria Capua Vetere prison on April 6, 2020.

• A report by Public Health Scotland revealed more than 1,200 soccer fans tested positive after traveling to London for Scotland's Euro 2020 match with England. The report also confirmed that only 397 attended the game, despite a government warning not to travel without a ticket.

• England fans have been urged not to travel to Rome for their side's EURO 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine on Saturday, as quarantine restrictions mean even those with tickets cannot attend the game.

• The COVID-19 death rate in Manchester, in the northwest of England was 25 percent higher than the rest of the country, a study found. The research also noted that life expectancy in the region declined more during 2020 than in England overall. 

• Finland's capital Helsinki will begin giving vaccines to children aged 12 to 15 who are at risk of contracting a severe coronavirus infection.

• Cases in Portugal jumped by 2,362 in the past 24 hours, the biggest increase since mid-February, official data showed, as authorities continued to scramble to stop the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

• Russia's President Vladimir Putin encouraged his fellow citizens to be vaccinated against the coronavirus but stopped short of backing compulsory vaccinations.

• The economic impact from the plunge in tourism since the pandemic emerged last year could top $4 trillion, a United Nations report said.

• Half of the people in France have received at least a first dose of a vaccine, the country's Ministry of Health announced. But the rapid spread of the Delta variant threatens to stem the decline in the number of patients in hospitals.

• Germany closed its borders to travelers arriving from Russia and Portugal, except for German citizens or permanent residents.

• The African Union has warned that the failure to take into account the Indian version of AstraZeneca's vaccine by the "European health certificate" poses problems and risks of discrimination for people vaccinated in Africa.

• Czechia has reported its second successive week-on-week rise in new daily cases and the reproduction, or R, number has risen above 1 for the first time since mid-April, Health Ministry data showed. 

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 808 to 3,728,141, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose by 56 to 90,875.

ACROSS EUROPE 

Penelope Liersch in Budapest, Hungary  

Romania

Romania has agreed to sell 1.17 million doses of excess Pfizer vaccines to Denmark. The first doses from Romania are expected to arrive in Denmark this week. Romania is experiencing low vaccination uptake. 

The country missed its goal to vaccinate 5 million people by the end of May, with only 4.47 million people or a fifth of the population vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy is spreading in the country. That is being attributed to an entrenched distrust in state institutions, weak vaccine education and the spread of misinformation. 

Czechia

The Czech government has banned travel to Russia and Tunisia over concerns around COVID-19 mutations. The countries have been added to 14 banned countries that include India and parts of Africa and South America. 

Authorities are urging Czech fans not to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan for the Euro 2020 quarter-final against Denmark. Azerbaijan falls into the government's very high-risk COVID-19 category when it comes to travel. Any fans who do travel there will have to self-isolate on their return. 

The Czech government is holding a special session on Thursday to discuss a response to the spread of the Delta variant. The country has recorded 120 Delta cases so far. A week-on-week rise in new cases was also recorded on Monday, with 157 new cases registered compared with 118 a week earlier. 

The surge is a sign of a potential turn in the declining trend that has been steadily improving since infections peaked in March.

Andrew Wilson in Oxford, UK

It's reported that after July 19, fully vaccinated people will not have to isolate following contact with an infected person. Instead, they'll have to take a lateral flow test each morning for 10 days and will be free to go out if they test negative.

It's increasingly likely the government will make venues responsible for deciding whether attendees to events such as concerts or football matches, have to show proof of vaccination. And Westminster has plans in place to integrate the NHS App with the European Union's green pass system for foreign travel.

There are now about 375,000 school children having to self-isolate at home even when they don't have COVID-19, causing severe disruption for families. The Department of Health says it will change the policy in September, but parent groups and opposition Labour MPs want an immediate change to the policy. 

Toni Waterman in Matera, Italy 

The Delta variant could disrupt plans for Italian travelers. The country's Deputy Health Minister Pierpaolo Sileri said it was "likely" the highly transmissible mutation would "force us to remodel the green pass, releasing it after the second dose of a vaccine." Right now, the pass is made available 15 days after a person receives their first dose. 

A decision could be made in the coming weeks. More than 50 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country thus far, with about a third of the population fully vaccinated.

On Friday, Italy's Higher Health Institute said the Delta variant now accounted for more than 16 percent of all new COVID-19 infections.

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