A nurse prepares to collect a swab sample from a man to perform a COVID-19 test at a drive-through testing center in Panama City on December 3, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 1,504,303 with the global confirmed cases reaching 65,111,866 as of 9 am BJT on Friday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Data source: Johns Hopkins University

Current status (data as of 9 am BJT, December 4):

Canada is seeing a continued increase in COVID-19 counts, reporting a total of 395,576 cases of COVID-19 and 12,395 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to CTV.

Brazil Thursday recorded 755 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the total number of fatalities to 175,270. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the country averaged 544 daily deaths in the past seven days.

The number of new COVID-19 infections in Germany has increased by 22,046 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to more than 1.1 million, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Thursday. The number of deaths related to COVID-19 in Germany increased by 479 on Thursday to a total of 17,602, according to the RKI.

Iraq's Health Ministry reported on Thursday 2,039 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 558,767. The new cases included 612 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 287 in Nineveh, 261 in Kirkuk, 120 in Diyala, and 101 in Babil, while the other cases were detected in the other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

Sweden reported 35 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 7,007, the country's Public Health Agency reported. The country recorded 6,485 new cases during the same period.

Sloveniaon Thursday reported 1,772 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of confirmed cases to 81,338, according to official figures.