People wait to get tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus outside a testing facility in Allahabad on August 7, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 715,163 with the global confirmed cases reaching 19,111,123 as of 8 pm BJT on Friday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Current status (data as of 8 pm BJT, August 7):

The US State Department on Thursday lifted its highest level of travel advisory that warned US citizens against international travel. The country will return to its system of providing specific travel advice to different countries, the department said in a Thursday note.

Syria's capital is facing a "terrible" spike in COVID-19 infections, with hospitals packed, patients scouring Facebook for advice and medics fearing the virus is spreading faster than clinics can test for it.

South Australians have been urged to "stay calm" as state authorities undertake a large coronavirus tracing operation.

In efforts to ensure that its healthcare workers are safe, even as coronavirus infections spread rapidly among healthcare staff across Africa, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, or Nigeria CDC, has launched an online course on infection prevention and control targeting the workforce.