The German government could table plans on how to lift restrictions for people who have been fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19 by the end of next week, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Friday. "It can be done within days," Spahn told a news conference during a visit to a vaccine factory in Reinbek, north of Hamburg, Reuters reported.

Sweden will postpone a tentative plan to ease some Covid-19 restrictions due to the ongoing high levels of new infections, the government said on Thursday cited by Reuters. The Nordic country is experiencing a severe third wave of the virus and the number of patients treated in intensive care is at the highest level since the spring of last year.

The Italian government presented a roadmap on Wednesday outlining the gradual lifting of virus-related restrictions, in a process stretching until the summer, news wires reported. Rome also plans to introduce a coronavirus pass in the near future for travel within the country.

New rules and better supply of new vaccine doses will boost Italy’s vaccination campaign, allowing the government to lift restrictions on businesses and citizens starting from May, the health minister said in an interview published on Monday.

A loosening of Covid-19 restrictions is planned for April, Bulgarian Health Minister Kostadin Angelov told a news briefing on Tuesday. Pupils will be probably back to school from 12 April, and toddlers may return to kindergartens from April 5. The timetable for a restart of in-person classes has yet to be specified.

Japan has initiated a major change in its legislation that will affect major transactions in areas linked to national security. The state will have a tighter grip on deals in border regions and areas associated to military objects as Chinese buyers are mulling large real estate deals, Reuters reported.

France may widen its COVID-19 restrictions to three other regions, including the Rhone region which houses the major city of Lyon, the government said on Wednesday, lengthening a list of high-risk zones including Paris where curbs have been tightened.

The number of Covid-19 cases in the country has been rising for the past two or three weeks. This has prompted us to take nation-wide mitigation action, with the restrictive measures set to come into force on Monday and stay in place for 10 days, Health Minister Prof. Kostadin Angelov announced today during a regularly scheduled briefing of the National Operative Staff.

Several thousand protesters from across Romania converged on Sunday outside the parliament building in Bucharest to march against anti-Covid measures as authorities announced new restrictions amid a rise of infections, AP reported. Six weeks ago restrictions were relaxed in Bucharest, but rising infections have prompted authorities to reimpose tighter measures for a fortnight effective as of Monday.

Authorities in Hungary are tightening pandemic restrictions in an effort to mitigate a rapid rise in deaths and hospitalizations caused by COVID-19.