The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 2,465,500 with the global confirmed cases reaching 111,329,853 as of 9:00 am BJT on Monday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

A visitor wearing a face mask looks at dolls on display during the international doll exhibition "The Art of Doll" in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 20, 2021. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua)

Current status (data as of 9:00 am BJT, Feb 22):

Source: Johns Hopkins University

Americans may still need to wear masks in 2022 to protect against the coronavirus, said Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, on Sunday. His comments came as the COVID-19 death toll in the United States is approaching 500,000.

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,991,651 on Sunday as 14,264 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

Another 9,834 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,115,509, according to official figures released Sunday.

Russia registered 12,742 more COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the country's COVID-19 response center said Sunday.

France reported 22,046 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, slightly down from 22,371 a day before, according to data released on Sunday by the country's Public Health Agency.

Turkey on Sunday reported 6,546 new COVID-19 cases, including 601 symptomatic patients, taking the total number of positive cases in the country to 2,638,422.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent reached 3,819,576 as of Sunday noon, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.