TOP HEADLINES

• The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in France has risen to a total of 10,151 on Monday, according to health authorities, going above 10,000 for the first time since June 22.

• Germany's vaccine advisory committee is recommending all 12 to 17 year-olds get jabbed, making a U-turn on its former evaluation. The committee had previously recommended that only children and adolescents with pre-existing conditions get the jab, but the experts now say the Delta variants expose teens to further risks.

• Ireland will exempt vaccinated children from missing two weeks of school if they were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The decision opens a huge rift among pupils, as unvaccinated students are forced to self-isolate for 14 days.

• The day after the end of the so-called "pingdemic" in the UK and the relaxation of self-isolation rules, a whistleblower working for the British government has revealed to The Guardian that thousands in the country might have isolated because of "a mistake" in the COVID-19 app. According to the source, the app pinged people who had been in close contact with someone infected with the virus in the previous five days, instead of two.

• France reported a cluster of 77 cases, most of them children aged between six and 17, at a summer camp in the northwest region of Brittany. The site has been closed following the discovery of the infections. 

• New Zealand has called for a snap three-day national lockdown after identifying the first case of community transmission of COVID-19 in six months. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she won't take any chances, as the case is suspected to be the Delta variant.

• The Grand Prix of figure skating expected to be hosted by China won't take place this year over coronavirus concerns.

• The U.S. is planning to start administering booster shots to those who have completed their initial vaccination in September, pending authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

ACROSS EUROPE

Ross Cullen in Paris

The number of people being treated in hospital in France has risen back above 10,000. 

But although the average number of cases remains high at roughly 23,000 a day, it is also a number that is relatively stable. 

This is the same number of cases France registered in mid-March 2021 before the spring lockdown-lite and also in early May, when the restrictions and nationwide curfew remained in place. 

The incidence rate at a national level is 244 cases per 100,000 people, but the specific rate for Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean is 2,100 cases. Some 3.5 percent of all tests being carried out are returning positive results, a percentage that is starting to fall.

Andrew Wilson in the UK

Health Minister Sajid Javid has asked for a review of the cost of PCR tests for travelers, which usually cost around $100, after some retail experts have described them as a "COVID rip-off."

UK job vacancies have reached nearly a million in the three months to July, while unemployment has slightly fallen again, pointing, says the Office for National Statistics, to a continued robust recovery in the world of work.

After falling in recent weeks, the average number of daily coronavirus cases is now rising again. Experts say this is being driven by the Delta variant.

A further 28,438 confirmed cases in the UK were announced on Monday.

Ryan Thompson in Frankfurt 

In Germany's largest state, Bavaria, older people and those who are deemed medically at-risk can now receive booster vaccinations against COVID-19. 

This is two weeks ahead of the nationwide booster shot campaign, which is planned for the beginning of September. 

"The vaccination centers and the resident, treating doctors can already offer booster vaccinations in Bavaria," said regional Health Minister Klaus Holetschek on Monday in Munich.

Officials are requiring a minimum of at least six months to have passed since the second shot was given before medical staff can administer this third jab. The campaign will initially focus on residents of nursing homes and people with immunodeficiency and immunosuppression diseases.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: French navy to take oxygen to Caribbean islands hit hard by COVID-19

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 42 new confirmed COVID-19 cases

CGTN America: Local school officials stick with mask mandate, despite court setback in Texas

CGTN Africa: Africa's COVID-19 cases surpass 7.25 million: Africa CDC

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