Germany Warns Of Third Wave As French PM Locks Down Paris

An official from Germany's Robert Koch Institute delivering remarks this morning says that the country may be in a similar situation at Easter as it found itself at Christmas, with infection numbers now 'rising exponentially' and warning that there are 'not enough vaccines in Europe to stop the third wave alone'.

• Says that due to this the relaxation in restrictions in the coming weeks that had been mooted may not be possible.
• This comes a day after an announcement from French Prime Minister Jean Castex that Paris, its surrounding areas and 15 other departements will be placed into a form of lockdown for four weeks from midnight tonight to contain a spike in new cases.
• The lockdown will not be as strict as previous measures, with non-essential retail forced to close but schools and hairdressers remaining open.
• Both of these escalations come as the EMA gave the green light once again yesterday to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
• The spat between the UK and EU over vaccine supply may show some minor signs of cooling off, with UK PM Boris Johnson speaking to his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo yesterday. The UK is the primary hub of AZ vaccine manufacturing in Europe, while the same is true of Belgium for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Any bilateral improvements in relations, though, remain at risk from aggressive action from the European Commission and Council, which could implement export bans on vaccines to the UK in the coming days or weeks.