-- UK recovery plan unveiled in detail as death toll tops 32,000;

-- Italy records 219,814 cases, death toll at 30,739;

-- France's deaths rise to 26,643, hospitalizations down further;

-- German gov't to earmark up to 750 mln euros for developing vaccine.

The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

LONDON -- The British government on Monday published the document of the long-expected COVID-19 recovery plan, hoping to gradually ease the lockdown measures while at the same time getting the coronavirus pandemic under control.

Named as "Our Plan to Rebuild: The UK Government's COVID-19 recovery strategy", the document sets out the three-phase approach, starting this week with further lockdown loosening at the start of June and further changes potentially from July 4.

According to the 50-page document, from this week those with jobs in food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and scientific research in laboratories should return to the workplace.

ROME -- The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 30,739 lives in Italy after a daily rise of 179 deaths, according to the latest data released by the country's Civil Protection Department on Monday.

A total of 744 new infections were recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases combining infections, fatalities and recoveries since the pandemic began to 219,814.

Meanwhile, the number of active cases decreased by 836 compared to Sunday, making the nationwide total to 82,488.

PARIS -- Coronavirus-linked fatalities stood at 26,643 after 263 new patients died in the last 24 hours in France, the fifth worst-hit country in the world in terms of human losses, while pressure in hospitals eased for nearly one month, showed health ministry's data on Monday.

More people died of the disease in the last 24 hours compared with 70 deaths reported on Sunday, the lowest daily toll in nearly two months, the data showed.

The number of people in intensive care units, a key indicator of the health system's ability to deal with the pandemic, declined by 64 to 2,712, while hospitalizations were down by 285 to 22,284.

BERLIN -- The German government will provide up to 750 million euros (813 million U.S. dollars) for the development and production of a vaccine against the coronavirus, a minister announced on Monday.

Vaccine development was "complex, time-consuming and cost-intensive," and in the current "exceptional situation," time was a very important factor, said Anja Karliczek, Minister of Education and Research.

The funding will help expand the capacities in vaccine development and production in the country, according to Karliczek.