COVID-19 Delta variant sweeps across Europe as restrictions ease Another wave of COVID-19 infections, mostly driven by the Delta variant, is poised to sweep across Europe following its recent easing of restrictions and resumption of cross-border travels. While some countries, undaunted by the worrying signs, decided to further relax restrictions, many others again tightened sanitary measures to the disappointment of holiday-making crowds, as authorities see no other solution even though they rely heavily on tourist consumption. RELAXING RESTRICTIONS Reassured by mass vaccination, fewer patients in intensive care and a dwindling number of deaths since late spring, many European countries have recently announced easing of restrictions that had been introduced to slow down the spread of COVID-19.