Evening roundupMonday's key coronavirus developments in Luxembourg and abroad

Starting with Luxembourg

• The latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that 49 new cases of coronavirus were discovered yesterday from 657 tests. There were four new deaths, pushing the death toll to 693.

• Rapid tests will be implemented in Luxembourg’s schools shortly as a measure to protect staff and students. Meanwhile, the teachers’ union Féduse has called on the Minister of Education Claude Meisch to reform certain aspects of the education system.

• According to information obtained by RTL, the General Director of Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, Claude Schummer, had indeed tried to bypass the government’s vaccination strategy. Minister Paulette Lenert stated that she has no additional knowledge on the case and is only aware of the rumours that are already circulating the country, before adding: “We cannot under any circumstances tolerate privatisation tendencies during a pandemic.”

• The Grand Ducal police has issued a reminder of the restrictions in place, following parliament’s decision to extend Covid measures until Friday 2 April. Catch up here.

And abroad

• A growing list of countries have suspended AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shots amid fears over blood clots and other possible side effects, despite the company and the World Health Organization insisting there is no risk. Late Monday afternoon this included Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France. Here’s a recap.

• Intensive care doctors in Germany warned Monday that the country would need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if it is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Tourism in the European Union -- measured in nights spent in tourist accommodation -- plunged by half last year under virus travel restrictions and lockdowns, the bloc’s statistics agency said on Monday.

• The Netherlands begins three days of voting Monday in a primary test of a European government’s coronavirus policies, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte set to win another term in office.

• The much-anticipated report from the international mission to Wuhan to investigate Covid-19’s origins is set to be published this week, following intense US and Chinese pressure over its contents.

• Swiss pharma giant Roche said Monday it would pay $1.8 billion (1.5 billion euros) to buy US firm GenMark Diagnostics and thus broaden its rapid test portfolio, including for Covid-19.

• Somalia on Monday received its first shipment of 300,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, destined for frontline workers and those most at risk from Covid-19, the government said in a statement.

• In a bid to tackle online misinformation, Facebook will now apply a label to posts discussing the coronavirus jab. False claims and conspiracies about the coronavirus vaccines have proliferated on social media platforms during the pandemic.