TOP HEADLINES

• Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel was admitted to the hospital yesterday after testing positive in June. He is currently under 24-hour observation and is undergoing additional tests.

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will outline plans to lift the country's remaining COVID-19 restrictions. He is expected to add that the country has to "learn to live with" the virus.

• Data suggest the number of cases in the UK will continue to rise if measures such as mandatory masks are lifted, but the government says the number of cases leading to hospital admissions has been reduced because of the country's vaccination program.

• On Sunday, the UK reported 24,248 new cases and 15 deaths. 

• Meanwhile the situation in Russia continues to worsen, with a reported 24,353 new cases and 654 deaths in the past 24 hours.

• Greece will not close its economy to protect its unvaccinated population, according to the country's prime minister. In an interview with the newspaper Kathimerini, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "When we imposed across-the-board measures, there were no vaccines … we do have vaccines now." Currently, 35 percent of the country is fully vaccinated. And Greece has offered incentives for the rest of the population to do the same, such as pre-paid cards for younger people having their jabs.

• France's health minister urged people to get vaccinated on Sunday, warning that the country could be approaching a fourth wave of cases in the coming weeks.

• Bulgaria is considering offering people incentives to get vaccinated. Only 14.5 percent of adults have had both doses of a vaccine, putting it behind other EU countries.

• High-risk animals are getting an experimental vaccine in 70 zoos across the U.S.. The jab has been approved for experimental use by the country's Department of Agriculture. The first group of animals to receive the vaccine are tigers, grizzly bears, black bears, ferrets and mountain lions. Earlier this year Russia rolled out a COVID-19 vaccine for animals.

AROUND EUROPE

Toni Waterman in Brussels 

The highly contagious Delta variant has now become the dominant strain in Belgium and by the end of the month it could be the only variant in circulation, according to biostatistician Geert Molenberghs from KU Leuven.  

A spike in cases in the UK, where the Delta variant has been dominant for weeks but where many are vaccinated, has not resulted in a sharp increase in hospitalizations.  

Belgium's health experts caution against panic but urge people to remain vigilant. As of Monday, 44 percent of the adult population was fully vaccinated. 

The Pfizer and Moderna jabs have proved effective in protecting people against the Delta variant, but only if they are double vaccinated. 

Andrew Wilson in UK

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce details of the next stages of social distancing, face coverings and working from home at a press conference on Monday.

All the signs are that the government will stick to the expected date of July 19, even though cases are at their highest levels since January.

Currently, 86 percent of adults have now had at least one jab and Downing Street is keen to move from legal controls to recommended behaviors.

Changes could include allowing fully vaccinated travelers to avoid quarantine when returning from amber list countries, making face masks voluntary and relaxing rules for isolation after contact with infected people.

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