The coronavirus pandemic has “slowed down” in Europe in the past week, although death rates continued to rise with more than 67,000 new deaths reported, the World Health Organisation said.

The agency said even though there was a “downward trend” in the number of cases in Europe, the region still has the highest proportion of new cases and deaths globally.

In the past week, the WHO said the number of new cases reported in Europe dropped by around 6 per cent after a 10 per cent decline the previous week, suggesting lockdowns across the continent are effectively slowing transmission, although the region still accounts for around half of new global deaths.

The Irish government is expected to announce friends and families can mix over a two-week period at Christmas, according to the Irish Times.  

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has reportedly suggested Ireland will allow household visits as part of similar measures to Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK but “for something closer to two weeks” in the Republic, rather than just five days. 

Footage of culled mink coming back up from the grave has been shown on Danish TV. Officials say that it was a natural phenomenon and caused by gases given off during decomposition of the minks’ bodies.

The mink were culled over fears that a mutated version of the coronavirus, that was found in some of them, could spread to humans and stop the vaccine from working effectively.

Joe Biden’s team has been in contact with Dr Anthony Fauci, the US’s top infectious diseases expert, the president-elect said shortly after the Trump administration agreed to participate in the transition process.

Mr Biden said he has not yet had a chance to meet with the expert himself, but praised Dr Fauci’s efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis in the US, which has seen more than 12 million cases and nearly 260,000 fatalities.

“I haven’t had a chance to speak to Dr Fauci,” he said, adding “he’s been very, very helpful.”

Almost one in four Brits have admitted that they will break any lockdown restrictions that attempt to prevent them seeing family from another household bubble on Christmas Day.

In a survey of 1,000 UK consumers conducted by Birmingham Law Society, 23.4 per cent admitted they are likely to break the rules and see their family regardless.

Leading lawyers have warned the government all communication and policy announcements relating to the Christmas period need to made clear, and that a distinction is made between what is regulation and guidance.

Adrian Keeling QC, Barrister at No5 Barristers’ Chambers, and member of the Birmingham Law Society, said: “Our survey results suggest a significant proportion of the British public are willing to break the law in order to see their extended family on Christmas Day.

“People have to realise however that, no matter what their individual circumstances are, they are obliged to abide by the law. If they do not, then they could face significant penalties. The law applies to all, even if you do not agree with it.”

A 20-year-old man is facing a £10k fine after police shut down an illegal rave at a Newcastle industrial unit believed to have been attended by up to 300 people.  

Police received a number of calls from concerned residents about crowds of people at the building in Heaton in the early hours of Sunday morning.  

Officers arrived at the scene to find hordes of people leaving and many more still inside, with the party in full swing.  

The organiser has been issued with a court summons for failing to comply with Covid-19 legislation and faces a £10,000 fine. 

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford has said the decision to agree a relaxing of restrictions over Christmas was to avoid a “free for all”.

“I think it was very clear to us from the advice we received at the Cobra meeting, but also from what we hear in Wales, that unless we found a formula that allowed people to get together over Christmas, people were very unlikely to be willing to stick to the current level of restrictions that we have here in Wales,” he told GMB.

“So the choice was between a guided form of meeting over Christmas or people simply making their own solutions.”

Mr Drakeford said it was “not a matter of encouraging people” to gather over the festive period.

“It is finding a set of rules that give us a guided way to Christmas – without the rules that we’ve agreed, I think the risk was very high that people would simply make up the rules for themselves,” he said.

This is an interesting development over in Sweden – the country decided against a national lockdown to contain Covid-19 and instead opted to let schools, restaurants and shops remain open.  

But according to Sweden’s chief epidemiologist, there have so far been no signs of “herd immunity” slowing down the virus – and more than a quarter of the country’s total coronavirus cases have been recorded in November alone. 

Mayank Aggarwal has more details:

Eurostar has warned it is “fighting for its survival” as it called for more financial support from the government.

The cross-Channel rail operator claimed it is being treated unfairly after the aviation sector was given extra assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Eurostar said in a statement: “The new scheme of rates relief for airports puts Eurostar at a direct disadvantage against its airline competitors.

“Eurostar has been left fighting for its survival against a 95% drop in demand, whilst aviation has received over £1.8 billion in support through loans, tax deferrals and financing.

“We would ask this scheme to be extended to include international rail services, and more generally for the government to incorporate high-speed rail in its support for the travel sector, and in doing so help protect the green gateway to Europe.”

None of the mutations documented in the new coronavirus appear to make Covid-19 spread more rapidly, scientists have said.

However, the researchers from University College London (UCL) have warned the world needs to remain vigilant and continue monitoring the genetic changes in Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

This is because the imminent introduction of vaccines may “exert new selective pressures on the virus” that may lead to mutations that do not respond to jabs.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, are based on coronavirus genomes – or genetic material – from more than 46,000 people with Covid-19 from 99 countries.