· The World Health Organization (WHO) has once again warned that the pandemic is going on for much longer than it needs to because poorer nations are not receiving the vaccines to protect their populations. They will remain at crisis levels until "deep into 2022," according to senior WHO official Bruce Aylward. 

· Romanian police have launched a criminal investigation into a false claim that a hospital is empty. A misleading Facebook video had suggested that there were no patients at a temporary hospital in the northeastern city of Piatra-Neamt. The video, which has been shared nearly 4,000 times, purported to show the hospital with empty beds. But management and the police refuted the claim, and said it has been occupied since it opened in 2020. 

· UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the country is preparing for as many as 100,000 cases per day throughout winter. The winter peak in 2020 was just over 81,000 on December 29. While he called on people to get vaccinated, he did not say it was time to bring in more restrictions. "We don't believe that the pressures currently faced by the National Health Service are unsustainable," he said.

· India administered its one billionth vaccine dose on Thursday, as it recovers from a devastating surge in cases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the landmark was a "triumph of Indian science." About three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and 30 percent are fully vaccinated, according to government figures.

· Russia is finalizing paperwork required to complete certification of its Sputnik V vaccine by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the Russian RIA news agency reported. The Russian healthcare ministry said it also expected a visit from EMA officials this year. The Kremlin said "technological differences" remain between the Sputnik developers and the EMA. 

· Frankfurt Book Fair, one of Europe's biggest, will showcase a raft of pandemic-inspired novels. Margaret Atwood teamed up with Dave Eggers and John Grisham on a "collaborative novel" about New Yorkers thrown together by lockdown. And, although fewer international publishers and authors are attending the fair this year because of the pandemic, German author John von Dueffel will be in Frankfurt to launch The Angry and The Guilty, which features a woman who has to go into quarantine just as the family patriarch is dying.

· France's lower house of parliament has approved an extension to the country's health pass measures until at least July 31, 2022, as governments around Europe look to curb the virus over winter. The pass proves the holder has been fully vaccinated, or has recently tested negative for COVID-19, thereby allowing them to enter places such as bars, restaurants and sports venues.

· Moscow has extended restrictions to close bars and restaurants, after Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced a return to working from home on Thursday. All shops, bars, restaurants and services – except pharmacies, supermarkets, and other essentials – will be shut from next Thursday. Russia's President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday all regional governments would be allowed to reintroduce measures, as cases continue to rise.

FROM OUR GLOBAL COLLEAGUES

CGTN Europe: Seven dead in third Romania COVID-19 hospital fire in less than a year

CGTN China: Chinese mainland reports 28 confirmed COVID-19 cases

CGTN America: U.S. vaccination plods on as deaths from COVID-19 surpass 700,000

CGTN Africa: 15 African countries fully vaccinate 10 percent of population against COVID-19

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

Cover photo: A health service official sprays disinfectant in a Moscow railways station, as the pandemic continues at pace in Russia. /Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP