Germany has backtracked on its plan to impose a strict Easter weekend shutdown after public outcry, as the European Union said it would tighten vaccine export controls in a bid to ramp up its stuttering inoculation campaign.
Inoculations across the EU remain stubbornly behind hard-hit countries outside the bloc, which has blamed production and supply problems on its slow rollout.
The melee over vaccines comes as several countries battle third waves of the virus, with some governments looking to impose new anti-virus measures despite widespread lockdown fatigue more than a year into the pandemic.
Germany on Wednesday said it would scrap plans to close most shops in the country over Easter from April 1 to 5 after facing stinging criticism of the plan.
The government instead asked people to stay home over the holiday and Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a mea culpa after reversing the measures.
Elsewhere on the continent, Belgium said it would bring in a new partial lockdown for four weeks, closing schools and limiting access to non-essential shops as it sought to quell a third wave.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
