The leaders of Austria (L) and Denmark (R) visited a reopened Israeli gym with PM Benjamin Netanyahu (C)Image caption: The leaders of Austria (L) and Denmark (R) visited a reopened Israeli gym with PM Benjamin Netanyahu (C)
Denmark has followed France and Germany in approving the Oxford/AstraZeneca
vaccine for over-65s, after a large study in Scotland found it to be very
effective across all age groups
Denmark has also teamed up with Austria and Israel to
develop future coronavirus vaccines, aware of the risk posed by new virus
mutations. The countries’ leaders discussed this co-operation in Israel on
Thursday. The EU does not object to the initiative, though France insists that the joint EU strategy is the one to follow. The slow vaccine rollout in
the EU has been much criticised
The EU's internal market
commissioner, Thierry Breton, told the news website Politico that “it’s
fine” for EU countries to use the Chinese and Russian vaccines if they wish to.
The EU’s European Medicines Agency has not approved them yet. Commissioner
Breton said those vaccine deliveries – to Hungary, for example – were small,
whereas millions of doses were needed EU-wide. He is seeking new facilities in
the EU to ramp up vaccine production
The French region closest to the UK – Pas-de-Calais – is introducing
a weekend lockdown because of a surge in infections there. France is generally
lockdown-free, apart from Dunkirk – just east of Calais – and the Nice area in
the south. But French bars, restaurants and leisure venues remain closed and
there is a nightly curfew. By the summer France aims to have
vaccinated two-thirds of its adult population – 30m people
Germany remains under lockdown and there is concern that only
two of the 16 German states have got the seven-day infection rate below the
official target of 50 per 100,000 people.
A new Covid test centre in Saarbrucken, near the French borderImage caption: A new Covid test centre in Saarbrucken, near the French border
France has changed its stance on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – now it can be given to people with underlying health conditions in the 65-74 age group. Earlier France had
restricted its use, saying there was not enough data from trials in older age groups.
France now has 1.1m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, but by Saturday just
273,000 people had received that jab, French LCI news reports
Germany is still not giving the
AstraZeneca jab to the over-65s, but such a move is now under discussion.
Germany also has large stocks of that vaccine waiting to be used
German border police are now
carrying out spot checks on people entering from the French Moselle region.
They must have proof of a negative Covid test no more than 48 hours old. About
16,000 Moselle residents commute to Germany daily. They face having
to get tested three times a week – it takes time and there is a fee in Germany,
unlike in France. Germany is worried about the Brazil variant – there have been
many cases of it in Moselle
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian
Kurz has announced plans to develop Covid vaccines with Denmark and Israel. The countries’ leaders are to meet in Israel on Thursday. Mr Kurz said the EU’s
European Medicines Agency (EMA) was too slow to approve vaccines, and it was vital to be prepared for further mutations of the virus
Slovakia – an EU member like its
neighbour Hungary – is following Hungary’s example by accepting the Russian
Sputnik V vaccine. Slovakia says it has just received the first batch of what
will be two million doses. Yet the EMA has not yet approved Sputnik V.
Austria interested in Russian vaccine
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The Sputnik V vaccine is now going to many countriesImage caption: The Sputnik V vaccine is now going to many countries
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has discussed possible
deliveries of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine to Austria, in a phone call with
President Vladimir Putin.
Sputnik V has not been authorised by the EU’s European
Medicines Agency, and Mr Kurz made it clear that such approval would be
required first.
This month the respected medical
journal The Lancet published results showing Sputnik V to be safe and
over 90% effective against Covid-19.
Austrian specialists might in future
co-produce Sputnik V with Russia, Mr Kurz said.
Russia is reported to be facing
some production difficulties with Sputnik V, which is now in high demand worldwide. In the EU, only Hungary is using the Sputnik V jab. But tiny
San Marino – not in the EU – has also taken delivery of it.
Germany to halt border travel: Latest from around Europe
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Austria has stopped short of locking down its Tyrol regionImage caption: Austria has stopped short of locking down its Tyrol region
Germany is to ban travel from Austria’s Tyrol region as well
as Czech border areas from Sunday without a negative test, but commercial links will continue. Austrian police halted travel out of the
Tyrol last night without a negative test, because of a surge in cases of the
South African coronavirus variant. But Czech MPs have refused to back
an extension of a state of emergency so it will end at midnight on Sunday.
France is worried about an outbreak of South African and Brazilian
variants in the north-east Moselle region. Health minister Olivier Véran says
the situation is worrying and he’s heading there today.
Poland is reopening swimming pools and ski slopes today and
allowing hotels, cinemas and theatres to start up again at 50% capacity. Authorities
already reopened museums and shopping centres on 1 February and they want to
give the new relaxation two weeks to assess its effect. Another 7,008
infections were reported yesterday.
Dutch policing unions are worried about a potential surge of skaters this
weekend on the country’s frozen lakes and canals. Crowds were reported around
some lakes yesterday – attracted by the big freeze - and some 500 people were
told to leave a park in the eastern city of Nijmegen.
But Portugal’s state of emergency is to stay until
1 March. And the lockdown will carry on at least until the end of next month,
according to Prime Minister António Costa. He says the situation is extremely
serious and it’s "premature" to talk about easing restrictions.
Shoppers now have to wear high-grade masks in AustriaImage caption: Shoppers now have to wear high-grade masks in Austria
In Austria people must now wear air-filtering FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport.
The high-grade masks are also required in workplaces where social distancing can’t be maintained, and for visits to doctors or to government offices.
The move comes amid concerns about the spread of more infectious strains of coronavirus. Unlike fabric and surgical masks, which chiefly protect other people from droplets, FFP2 masks also provide more protection for the wearer.
Initially, a number of supermarkets are handing them out for free. Over the long term, the masks will be sold at cost, with plans to price them at about 59 cents.
People who fail to wear an FFP2 mask face a €25 (£22) fine. Those who are unable to wear them for medical reasons will have to carry a doctor’s note. The masks have been obligatory in ski lifts since 24 December.
It comes as the required social distance in Austria has been doubled from one metre to two.
A second national coronavirus lockdown has come into effect in Austria, after earlier measures failed to contain rising infections. It will last until at least 6 December.
Schools and all non-essential shops have closed, and people are only allowed out for specific purposes - such as shopping for essential supplies, exercise, and if they have to travel for work.
At more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, Austria currently has one of the worst rates of cases in Europe.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober described the lockdown as an "emergency brake", saying it was needed to protect intensive care capacity.