Paris: Following are the latest developments in coronavirus crisis:
italy locked down again
Restrictions are reimposed on three-quarters of Italy until April 6 to suppress an outbreak fuelled by the virus variant first detected in Britain. Schools, restaurants, shops and museums are shut, including in Rome and Milan, with residents told to stay home except for work, health or other essential reasons.
virus key in dutch polls
Three days of voting begins in the Netherlands — under tight virus restrictions, including an overnight curfew — in a popularity test of the government´s pandemic policies.
defending astrazeneca
The director of the Oxford Vaccine Group says there is no link between the jab it developed with AstraZeneca and blood clotting, after several countries suspend its use. – German doctors sound alarm –
Intensive care doctors in Germany warn the country will need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if the country is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the pandemic.
sputnik v deals
The developers of the Sputnik V vaccine say they have reached production agreements in key European countries as the EU´s medical agency deliberates official approval for the Russian jab.
empty shores
Tourism in the European Union plunged by half in 2020 amid virus restrictions, the bloc´s statistics agency says, with seaside hotspots Greece, Cyprus and Malta the worst hit, seeing a 70 percent drop compared to the previous year.
hopes for uk economy
Britain´s economic activity will return to its pre-pandemic level at the end of this year following the country´s vaccine rollout, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey forecasts, in what would be an earlier-than-expected recovery.
low-key torch relay
Spectators will be barred from the start of the Tokyo Olympics torch relay, organisers say, announcing a pared-back launch as the countdown to the postponed Games begins in earnest.
2.6 million dead
At least 2,654,089 million people have died of coronavirus around the world since the outbreak began in December 2019, according to a media tally from official sources. The US is the worst-affected country with 534,889 deaths followed by Brazil (278,229), Mexico (194,710), India (158,725) and Britain (125,516).
