German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended on Friday her plans to introduce a strict night-time curfew to head off surging new coronavirus cases amid growing opposition to the proposed new law, dpa reported.

Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla  said on Thursday the pharmaceutical company's Covid-19  vaccine recipients would "likely" need a third dose between six to 12 months after full vaccination, followed by an annual shot, news wires reported. Bourla told US TV network CNBC that boosters were expected to become a regular part of life for years to come, as variants continue to spread.

France's official Covid-19 death toll rose on Thursday to more than 100,000, making the country of 67 million the eighth nation in the world to reach the mark, news wires reported.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will receive her first anti-coronavirus vaccination on Friday, Die Welt newspaper reported. Merkel would receive the AstraZeneca injection, the newspaper wrote without naming a specific source, dpa reported.

Iran has finalized a deal with Russia over purchasing 60 million doses Sputnik V Coronavirus vaccine, state-run IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

A top official from the World Health Organisation says Europe has surpassed 1 million deaths from Covid-19 and the situation remains “serious,” with about 1.6 million new cases reported each week in the region.

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez is standing by his intention to let the state of alarm expire on 9 May even as several regions are calling for it to be extended, El Pais reports. For the past six months, the emergency measure has given the country’s regional governments the power to introduce coronavirus restrictions that limit fundamental rights – such as nighttime curfews and perimetral lockdowns – without facing legal challenges in the courts.

The Swiss government on Wednesday announced further easing of its Covid-19 restrictions, allowing restaurants to reopen outdoor terraces from next week and sports events to take place with audiences, Reuters reported.

Greece plans to lift quarantine restrictions from next week for travelers from the European Union and five other countries who have been vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Denmark will become the first country to entirely cease administering AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine following its possible link to very rare cases of blood clots, several Danish media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The decision to remove the shot from Denmark’s vaccination scheme,which is expected to be announced later in the day, could delay the country’s vaccine rollout by up to four weeks, based on previous statements by health bodies, Reuters noted.