A medical worker shows a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, March 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

The total number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide has increased to 2,567,802 with the global confirmed cases reaching 115,572,301 as of 8:30 am BJT on Friday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Current status (data as of 8:30 am BJT, Mar 5):

More US states have announced plans to drop mask mandates amid still high baseline levels of new COVID-19 cases nationwide and increasing variant infections, drawing criticism from health experts.

Despite the ongoing lockdown, new COVID-19 infections in Germany were again slightly above previous week's level as the country registered 11,912 infections within one day, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Thursday.

Brazil on Wednesday saw record high daily deaths from the COVID-19 for the second day in a row, registering 1,910 deaths in 24 hours and bringing the national death toll to 259,271.

Egypt started on Thursday vaccinating the elderly people and patients with chronic diseases against COVID-19. Meanwhile, Palestine extended its coronavirus-related state of emergency by a month following an increase in COVID-19 cases.

Algeria on Thursday reported six new deaths from the COVID-19, raising its death toll to 3,002.