Evening roundupFriday's key coronavirus developments in Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that 149 new cases of coronavirus were discovered yesterday, while six more people sadly died, bringing the death toll to 527.
  

• To date, 9,750 vaccine doses have been delivered to Luxembourg - enough to vaccinate 4,875 people.

• Three cases of the more contagious strain of Covid - first discovered in Britain - have been identified in the Grand Duchy.

• 80 fines have been issued in total for people not respecting the mask-wearing mandate on Luxembourg’s trains.

• The government has announced new support for independents and freelancers suffering financial difficulties due to the coronavirus crisis.

And around the world

• Under-fire European officials have stepped up the vaccine push, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announcing today a doubling of the number of doses supplied by BioNTech/Pfizer.

• The UK announced a new requirement for pre-departure coronavirus tests for travellers to the country, as London declared a major incident due to surging virus cases in hospitals, and the country as a whole reported 1,325 more deaths and over 68,000 new cases. Meanwhile, London police hunt for a man accused of fraudulently injecting a 92-year-old woman with a fake vaccine.

• It was a mixed picture for Luxembourg’s neighbours. Belgium announced a slight decline in Covid cases, while French PM Jean Castex warned of a “fragile” situation and extended the 6pm curfew to 10 further departments. Meanwhile, Germany is reckoning with the mental health impact of the pandemic.

• In brighter news, the world’s poorest countries can expect to start receiving their first Covid-19 vaccine doses between the end of January and mid-February, the World Health Organization said.

• Sweden finally passed a pandemic law which gives the government new powers to curb rising infections. Health authorities in the Nordic nation insist tackling the pandemic is a “marathon, not a sprint”.

• Australia’s third-largest city, Brisbane, headed into a snap lockdown to stop the spread of the UK virus strain.

• Finally, in this handy explainer, we set out what we do and don’t know about new Covid mutations such as the UK and South African variants.