OVERVIEW: Europe and othe COVID-19 developments

• The UK is considering whether to make people arriving in the country quarantine in hotels amid concerns over the import of new variants. And Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing questions over his plan for getting pupils back into classrooms amid media reports that schools could stay closed until after Easter.
• France is mulling whether to impose a third national lockdown. The head of the scientific council advising the French government on the pandemic said Sunday that it would “probably need a new lockdown” and that there is an “emergency” in the country.
• Austria became the latest European country to make medical-grade face masks mandatory in some public places. People must now switch their face coverings to FFP2 filtering facepiece respirators or N95 masks when traveling on public transport as well as when visiting shops, markets or when picking up takeaway food.
• The European Union could approve AstraZeneca shot this Friday, according to German health ministry spokesman Hanno Kautz. The vaccine has been under review by the European Medicines Agency since January 12.
• Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday condemned the violence of protests over the weekend. On Sunday, police in Amsterdam used water cannon to disperse protesters demonstrating against restrictions.

ALSO SEE: Reuters overview on worldwide spread of the coronavirus