UK strict lockdown won't be reviewed until mid-February

Lockdowns have been extended in the UK and Germany; France promises to improve its vaccination program; and a traditional ceremony finds a way through the pandemic in Spain.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel Source: DDP IMAGES POOL

Germany's disease control centre has reported 944 more COVID-19 deaths. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says more than 1.3 million people have  been vaccinated against COVID-19. Almost a quarter of those over the age of 80 had received a dose. But he says the strict lockdown imposed on Monday won't be reviewed until at least the middle of next month.  Meanwhile, England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, is warning that the new variant of the virus - which is more transmissible than the original form of the disease - is spreading rapidly.