Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
French ministers are looking at tightening Covid restrictions to slow the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
One idea being considered is closing the current get-out clauses in France's health pass so that only fully vaccinated people have access to restaurants, cinemas and cultural venues.
France is focusing on its vaccine programme as Germany celebrates reaching its goal of 30 million additional immunisations against Covid and England considers whether it should tighten restrictions further.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce new Covid measures on Monday.
The health pass currently has exemptions for people recently recovered from Covid and people who can show a negative test result.
There has been some opposition to the vaccine pass as it means all workers must be vaccinated.
More than 91 per cent of people over 12 are vaccinated in France, leaving nine per cent, or six million people, unvaccinated, and 2.7 million eligible for a booster.
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A health centre employee performs a coronavirus test in the Kurfuerstendamm shopping street in Berlin, Germany. AP Photo -
People present their vaccination status as they queue in front of the famous department store 'KaDeWe' in Berlin. AP Photo -
A coffin which contains a person who died with the coronavirus, and is labelled "Covid-19", in a crematorium's cold room in Meissen, Germany. AP Photo -
A quiet retail precinct during the introduction of lockdown measures in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bloomberg -
A vast Covid-19 vaccination centre set up inside the France's national Velodrome near Paris. EPA -
A medical technician administers nasal swabs at a mobile testing site in Paris. AP Photo -
Children are vaccinated at a centre in Selestat, eastern France. AP Photo -
People queue up outside a pharmacy to have swab tests in Turin, Italy. EPA -
A crowd wearing face masks in downtown Madrid, Spain. AP Photo -
Nurses take care of a Covid-19 patient at the Basurto Hospital in Bilbao, Spain. EPA
Officials have said that hospitals again risk being overwhelmed after a record 100,000 cases were reported on Saturday, the highest daily level in France since the pandemic began.
Health experts have estimated that the number of daily cases could increase rapidly by mid-January, even though millions of people have received booster shots in recent weeks.
Nearly 3,300 people are in intensive care, again above the crisis threshold of 3,000 set by the authorities for handling the worst cases.
Germany reached its goal of 30 million immunisations against Covid-19 on Sunday.
“We have reached an important milestone. We can be proud of that,” Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said.
Of the extra shots, 25 million were boosters and five million were first or second-time vaccinations.
Austria introduced stronger Covid measures from Monday, with a 10pm closing hour for the hospitality sector.
The country is still in a lockdown for all unvaccinated people.
