TOP HEADLINES

• The UK is offering COVID-19 antibody testing to the general public for the first time. As part of a government scheme to gather data on antibody protection against different variants, anyone aged 18 or over will from Tuesday be able to opt into the program when getting a PCR test. 

• Thousands of people demonstrated across France for the sixth weekend in a row against a coronavirus health pass needed for daily activities, underlining the political risk of President Emmanuel Macron's policy. While the majority of people in France have been vaccinated, protesters say the health pass discriminates against those who have not, and infringes upon people's liberties.

• German politicians hope to finalize plans for a nationwide coronavirus health pass system by Monday. The pass had previously been applied in different forms under different regional applications, but as the Robert Koch Institute announced the country had "clearly" entered its fourth wave, the government is pushing to standardize the rules. 

• Russia has reported nearly 800 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours and 21,000 new cases. Authorities have blamed the summer spike on the spread of the Delta variant and the slow uptake of vaccines produced domestically.

• Thousands of music lovers rallied in six cities in the Netherlands on Saturday to protest what they see as unfair restrictions forcing the cancellation of summer festivals. The Dutch government has banned large-scale events until at least late September amid fears over the spread of the Delta variant.

• Testing and quarantine rules for people arriving in England have been changed 50 times since the start of the pandemic, according to analysis by the Press Association. A separate poll for The i Paper showed that fewer than one in 10 Britons traveled abroad for a summer holiday this year.

• Germany will designate popular tourist destinations in Greece, including Crete, as high-risk areas from Tuesday, meaning unvaccinated travelers returning home will have to quarantine for five days. As of today, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and parts of Ireland have also been upgraded to high-risk while some Spanish regions, including Catalonia, have been downgraded.

• In one of the biggest Pride marches since the pandemic, tens of thousands took to the streets in Denmark, with some celebrating while others expressed solidarity with LGBT+ people in Afghanistan. More than 200 Pride marches were canceled last year - and more have been delayed this year, including the London and New York Prides, two of the world's largest events.

• A 22-year-old student in Italy has become an Internet sensation after tattooing the barcode of his coronavirus health pass on his arm. Andrea Colonnetta said he hadn't given much thought to his latest tattoo but decided on the topical - and practical - design after talking with his tattoo artist (picture below).

AROUND EUROPE

Iolo ap Dafydd in London

Antibody tests are to be made more widely available to the British public for the first time during the pandemic. The test checks an individual's immune system response to coronavirus. From early next week any adult will be able to request it when having a PCR test. Of those who test positive, up to 8,000 will be sent two home antibody tests, and ministers expect it to help our understanding of antibody protection. 

Those taking part will be given two finger-prick tests, one to be taken as soon as possible after infection and the other within a month. The first of the finger-prick tests would have to be done quickly after a positive result, so the body would not have time to generate a detectable antibody response to the infection. The second would be done 28 days later and could measure antibodies generated in response to the infection.  

In another return to normality, Wales's largest music festival is being held for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Around 25,000 people turned up for 'Green Man' after tickets sold out as soon as they were released last May despite the organizers not knowing if the festival would be able to go ahead.  

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Germany

Germany has "clearly" entered its fourth wave, according to the country's disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute. With rising infections coinciding with the Delta variant becoming the dominant strain of the virus in Germany, positive PCR tests have increased from 4 to 6 percent within a week, according to the latest data. 

Analysts say that younger age groups have been affected most by the new wave, with the death rate remaining relatively low, with just three coronavirus mortalities on Sunday. So far, nearly 64 percent of the population have received at least one vaccine, while 58 percent have had both jabs. 

The current situation in Germany has prompted both Chancellor Angela Merkel and health minister Jens Spahn to reassure people who are vaccinated or recovered from the virus that they will not see a repeat of the harsh lockdown measures implemented earlier in the pandemic. 

But that means Germany's coronavirus health pass, which allows entry to places like cinemas, hospitals and nursing homes, is set to become more wide-reaching, as politicians aim to thrash out a uniform nationwide set of rules by the end of tomorrow.

Russia

The fourth worst-hit country in the world in terms of cases, Russia has been battling a new wave of infections since mid-June driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant. But unlike other countries that have struggled to acquire vaccinations, it faces the opposite problem: an excessive supply due to widespread vaccination hesitancy.

Just under 29 percent of the population have had at least one shot, with the government chalking the slow uptake in part to mistrust of vaccines that have been produced domestically, such as the Sputnik V jab. Russia has three homemade vaccines available to the population but is not distributing Western-made inoculations. 

Moscow and a host of regions have brought in mandatory vaccination measures in a bid to boost the country's inoculation drive, with President Vladimir Putin repeatedly calling on Russians to get vaccinated. But figures remain high as the country's coronavirus task force reported more than 20,500 new cases on Sunday, with 762 deaths in the past 24 hours, only a slight dip from recent record numbers. 

While the official death toll stands at 176,044, the government statistics agency Rosstat keeps a separate count from the pandemic task force based on excess deaths, which has exceeded 315,000 between last April and June this year. Many analysts say such figures can give us a clearer picture of mortalities linked to the virus. 

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