TOP HEADLINES

• Poland has sold one million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Australia, which plans to inject the 20- to 39-year-olds whom the country has identified as 'superspreaders.' Poland has vaccinated 55 percent of its population so far, but demand has slowed down amid vaccine hesitancy within at least a quarter of Poles.

• More than 200,000 protesters marched across France on Saturday, in the fifth consecutive weekend of protests against the mandatory health pass imposed by President Emmanuel Macron.

• After widespread criticism, the cost of the COVID-19 tests for international travel provided by the National Health Service in the UK was reduced on Saturday from $122 to $94. For people who have not had both doses of the coronavirus vaccine and are returning from amber-listed countries, the price of the two tests they need will fall from $235 to $188.

• From Monday in the UK, adults who have been double jabbed and those under 18 will no longer be legally required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.

• For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the LGBTQ Pride march took place in Bucharest on Saturday. An estimated 2,000 people took part to the event in Romania's capital.

• Hundreds of boats showed up on a lake near the Latvian capital of Riga to enjoy some socially distanced music gigs on Saturday, as the country tries to brighten up this summer – even for the unvaccinated. Thousands of vaccinated people were watching from the shore, where the stage hosting the musicians was also located. Two floating bars were selling beers and other drinks.

ACROSS EUROPE

Michael Voss in London

While COVID-19 cases were falling week by week in July, the number of people catching coronavirus appears to be on the increase again. The latest government figures show that 29,520 new people tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the weekly total up to 201,006, an increase of 6.9 percent over the previous week.

Hospital numbers are growing more slowing though, while deaths are down 2.2 percent compared to the previous week. This suggests that the very high vaccination rates in the UK are helping prevent hospitalizations. 

More than three-quarters of the population have had two doses of vaccine, with almost 90 percent having had their first jab. Now, the 16- and 17-year-olds are being urged to get their first jabs by August 23, to give time for the vaccine to take effect before the start of the new school year.

With almost all COVID-19 restriction lifted in the UK, capacity crowds were allowed for this weekend's start of the soccer season. It's believed at least a million and a half people are attending sports, music festivals and other events, the largest mass gatherings since the crisis began.

Until now anyone who has been in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case has had to self-isolate for 10 days. Starting tomorrow, Monday, that will no longer apply to people who have had two doses of the vaccine.

Italy

Italy is celebrating is second Ferragosto, the country's much-beloved national summer holiday, during the pandemic on Sunday.

Though this year Italians will be allowed to attend public concerts outdoors and other events, some COVID-19 measures remain in place: the government called for tougher checks on the health pass and for officials to be deployed to prevent large gatherings or illegal clubbing.

Some cities – like Palermo and Catania in Sicily – have forbidden bonfires on the beach and banned the sale of alcoholic drinks in the night between Saturday and Sunday.

France

For the fifth weekend in a row, anti-vaccination protests took place across France on Saturday, with more than 200,000 people taking to the streets to voice their dissent against the mandatory vaccinations for several professions and the mandatory use of the country's health pass in public places.

From this week, French citizens have been required to show their pass to enter restaurants, cafes, long-distance transport and more, proving that they have been vaccinated or have recently been tested negative for the coronavirus. After a week of leniency, police has been instructed by the government to get tougher on health pass checks from Monday.

France has vaccinated more than 45 million citizen with at least one jab of COVID-19 vaccine. While many who were reluctant are now getting vaccinated to avoid having to take a test every day to participate in normal daily activities, police are investigating cases of fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

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CGTN Europe has been providing in-depth coverage of the novel coronavirus story as it has unfolded. Here you can read the essential information about the crisis.