Fresh high

In the United Kingdom, the fresh record for single-day deaths on Wednesday shaded the previous day's all-time high.

The government said 1,820 people died in the latest 24-hour period, taking the country's total to 93,290. This is Europe's highest virus-related death toll and the fifth highest in the world. On Wednesday, the UK recorded another 38,905 new cases, below the seven-day average of nearly 60,000 earlier this month.

The lockdown restrictions across the UK have helped reduce the number of people contracting the virus, although the country is still recording high levels of infections when compared with other nations in Europe, such as France or Germany.

In France, the health ministry reported on Wednesday over 26,000 new cases over the latest 24-hour period, the highest since Nov 18, 2020.

Epidemiologist Odile Launay said France will probably need a third national lockdown if the current curfew fails to rein in the spread of the coronavirus.

"We should seriously consider a lockdown limited to vulnerable people," said Launay, also a member of the French national vaccine committee.

Despite the gloomy COVID-19 situation worldwide, Sri Lanka is welcoming tourists again after keeping the doors closed to visitors for nearly 10 months due to the pandemic.

Under the reopening, visitors must be tested in their country 72 hours prior to their flight, when they arrive at their hotel and again seven days later. They will be allowed to travel in 14 tourism zones in a "travel bubble", without mixing with local people. About 180 hotels have been earmarked to provide accommodation for the tourists.

Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.