TOP HEADLINES

- Finland reported 1,024 new cases, its highest daily figure so far. The country, one of the least affected in Europe by the coronavirus, has seen infections rise over recent weeks, linked by some to soccer fans returning home from Euro 2020 matches abroad. So far, the nation of 5.5 million people has recorded 109,983 cases and 995 deaths and there are currently 83 people hospitalized.

- There has also been a sharp increase in cases in France, which, for the first time since April 28, reported more than 30,000 new cases in a day. The 30,920 new infections announced on Wednesday compares with 1,816 cases reported on June 27.

- France will send 670,000 vaccine doses to Vietnam, according to President Emmanuel Macron. He posted the information on Twitter on Thursday. 

- The UK's economy grew by 4.8 percent between April and June, as most businesses emerged from lockdown, according to the country's Office for National Statistics. Although the growth was still below the 5 percent predicted by the Bank of England. 

- China's first mixed-vaccine trial has been approved by its drug regulator. The trial will test the efficacy of combining a DNA-based vaccine produced by Inovio, a U.S. pharmaceutical company, with an "inactivated" jab created by Sinovac.

- The mayor of Istiaia on the Greek island Evia told AFP that local businesses could "face extinction" after the fires destroyed the town's tourism industry in August, which was already devastated by the pandemic. Hotel reservations for the island also dropped by 90 percent in August because of the fires.

- Students in Turkey will return to the classroom for face-to-face learning, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. He added that adults will be tested frequently for the virus.

- Public Health England figures show that the Black and Black British ethnic groups had the lowest age-adjusted mortality rates for COVID-19 in the year to June. The highest mortality rate was in the Asian and Asian British ethnic groups, the report says.

AROUND EUROPE

Toni Waterman in Brussels  

In the past week, the number of patients admitted to Belgian Intensive Care Units (ICUs) has jumped by more than a third, with 124 people now receiving specialized care.

This comes as the number of new infections continues to climb. Between August 2 and 8, there were an average of 1,738 new cases every day, an increase of 8 percent compared with the previous week. 

Some of the increase is coming from returning holidaymakers. 

Fresh travel numbers showed that nearly 1.3 million people passed through Brussels Airport in July, the first time since the onset of the pandemic that the number had exceeded a million. Passenger numbers, however, still remain well below what they were in July 2019.

Ross Cullen in Paris 

The French government says its planned vaccination booster campaign will begin in mid-September for "populations at risk." The most vulnerable and elderly people will be able to book vaccination slots from the end of August or start of September. 

Senior ministers met on Wednesday to discuss the "extremely serious" situation in the French Caribbean and the worsening situation in some parts of mainland France. 

Intensive care units in Guadeloupe are at capacity and the top official on the Caribbean island has said "everyone must stay at home for the next three weeks [of lockdown]."

The health pass will now be compulsory in shopping centers in regions where the incidence rate is 200 cases per 100,000 people or higher. More than two-thirds of the French population have now had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Andrew Wilson in the UK 

UK Gross Domestic Product increased by 4.8 percent in the second quarter of the year following the easing of coronavirus restrictions, according to new estimates from the Office for National Statistics. GDP is now 4.4 percent below the pre-pandemic level.

From Monday, people in England who have been double vaccinated will no longer be required to self-isolate because of contact with another infected person. They will simply be advised to get tested.

There are plans for around 30 million people to receive a third booster vaccine jab starting on September 6. The government is expected to buy 35 million doses of the Pfizer jab for the fall campaign.

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