Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF and pharmaceutical company Laboratorios Richmond SACIF have launched production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in Argentina, the Russian fund said in a statement.

The EU will have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to cover 70 per cent of its adult population by mid-July due to higher production within the bloc, a senior official has said.

“Fifty-three factories are producing vaccines in the EU. Our continent is now the largest producer in the world after the United States,” internal markets commissioner Thierry Breton told French daily Le Figaro in an interview.

“I am now certain of how many doses are currently in production and I know how many millions will be delivered each week,” he said.

“This allows me to assure you that we well have by mid-July the number of doses necessary for vaccinating 70pc of the European Union's adult population,” he said, citing the threshold many health experts say is necessary to achieve “herd immunity”.

Lockdown measures in the Netherlands are expected to be eased from next week as pressure to reopen society mounts despite still-high coronavirus infection rates, Dutch broadcasters reported.

A nationwide nighttime curfew that has been in place for three months will be lifted on April 28, broadcasters NOS and RTL said, citing government sources, while bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve small groups on outdoor terraces between noon and 6pm.

Universities and colleges will also gradually reopen, while stores will be allowed to admit more customers.

Sindh has reported 730 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the provincial tally to 274,195.

Moreover, the daily situation report issued by the Sindh Chief Minister's office confirmed the deaths of three more persons due to the virus. The death toll now stands at 4,559.

The chief of the International Air Transport Association has said airlines are suffering a “scam” as pricey coronavirus tests are required of people travelling to Britain.

“Nobody will object to having systems in place to protect health and making sure that people can travel safely. But everybody should object when we see evidence of people being ripped off,” IATA boss Willie Walsh said during an online conference.

“If you fly to the UK for three days ... you've got to buy a package in advance to do a test on day two and day eight, even though you won't be there until the eighth,” former British Airways chief Walsh said, according to AFP.

“This is nonsense. It's a scam, let's call it what it is,” he added, warning that “we can't have a situation where only the wealthy are in a position to travel”.