European countries expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, began plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs on Thursday as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew.

Iran PressEurope: European countries have expanded COVID-19 booster vaccinations, launched plans to get shots to young children and tightened some curbs as the continent battled a surge in coronavirus cases and concerns about its economic fallout grew.

Europe is at the heart of the latest COVID-19 wave, reporting a million new infections about every two days and now accounting for nearly two thirds of new infections worldwide.

The European Commission proposed on Thursday that EU residents will need to have booster shots if they want to travel to another country in the bloc next summer without the need for tests or quarantines.

In France, authorities announced that booster shots would be made available to everyone aged over 18, rather than just the over-65s and those with underlying health issues.

Czech Republic declares a state of emergency and Slovakia enters lockdown as COVID infections rise.

The number of new daily cases in Germany hit a record of 75,961 on Thursday and its total death toll reached 100,119 since the start of the pandemic, according to the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases. 219