Some British hospitals look like war zones with doctors struggling to cope with an influx of patients infected with COVID-19, the government’s top scientific adviser said, as the death toll rose by a record daily amount towards 100,000.

The Swiss government recommended on Tuesday that voters reject a proposal in a planned referendum on 7 March to ban full facial coverings such as burqas and niqabs worn by some Muslim women, saying the move would hurt tourism, Reuters reported.

More than 20 shellfish trucks parked on roads near the British parliament and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence on Monday to protest against post-Brexit bureaucracy that has throttled exports to the European Union.

Two hotels in the Swiss ski resort of St Moritz were put under quarantine on Monday and ski schools were closed in attempt to curb an outbreak of the highly infectious new coronavirus variant, news wires reported.

The UK is vaccinating up to 140 people per minute against Covid-19 on average, Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Monday cited by Reuters. Latest figures show the UK has vaccinated so far 3,857,266 people with a first dose and 449,736 with a second dose.

Britain announced plans to hold the first in-person meeting of the G7 for nearly two years in June, inviting the leaders of major developed economies to a picturesque seaside village to discuss rebuilding from the pandemic and climate change.

Britain will ban arrivals from South American countries and Portugal because of concerns over a new Brazilian variant of the coronavirus, transport minister Grant Shapps said. PM Boris Johnson expressed concern about the Brazilian strain on Wednesday and Britain is already trying to contain a UK variant behind a surge in cases at the end of last year.

People who have had COVID-19 are highly likely to have immunity to it for at least five months, but there is evidence that those with antibodies may still be able to carry and spread the virus, a study of British healthcare workers has found.

The UK’s biggest supermarket chains warned Wednesday that food supplies in Northern Ireland face disruption because of new checks imposed by Britain’s departure from the European Union.

England’s health care system may move patients into hotels to ease pressure on hospitals struggling to handle rising COVID-19 admissions.