COVID in Europe: UK deaths pass 150,000 as Germany plans to further restrict bars and restaurants
Europe is once again seeing a surge of COVID-19 cases — here is our summary of the measures being taken across the continent.
Several nations have been reporting record numbers of new daily cases, the increase compounded by the emergence of the new Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa.
Some countries have taken steps targeting the unvaccinated, while programmes are also being rolled out to vaccinate young children.
The UK's death toll due to COVID-19 passed 150,000 after the country reported 313 additional deaths on Saturday (January 8).
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier in the week that the country would "ride out" the Omicron wave, even as the UK reports more than 200,000 daily COVID-19 infections.
"We have a chance to ride out this Omicron wave without shutting down our country once again," Johnson said, adding that Omicron was milder than other variants and that it was not translating into the same numbers of people needing intensive care.
Johnson said however that the weeks ahead would be challenging with "some services" being disrupted by staff absences. He said 100,000 critical workers would have lateral flow testing available every day.
In the meantime, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have all introduced further restrictions on leisure activities and going out to pubs and cafes.
This includes an extension of the social distancing rules and further limits on the size of gatherings.
Germany plans to further restrict access to bars and restaurants as Omicron cases increase, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
From January 15, people going to restaurants, cafés and bars will have to present a negative test in addition to proof of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19.
Germany had limited private
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