Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
COVID Infections Rise
New COVID-19 infections have been on the rise across the world since late June, topping half a million on Tuesday and Wednesday, increases not seen since May 28, according to an AFP tally.
WHO Warning
The World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency committee warns that new concerning variants of COVID-19 are expected to spread around the world, saying "the pandemic is nowhere near finished".
Origin Probe
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for China to cooperate better in the next phase of investigations into the origins of the pandemic, demanding more access to raw data.
African Deaths Surge
Coronavirus-linked deaths in Africa surged by 43 percent to 6,273 in the week of 5-11 July, driven by a lack of intensive-care beds and oxygen, the WHO says.
Australia Lockdown Spreads
Australia's bid to quash a fast-spreading outbreak will see its second largest city Melbourne lock down, bringing the total number of Australians under stay-at-home orders to around 12 million.
Dhaka Exodus
Hundreds of thousands of people flee the Bangladesh capital after authorities lift a coronavirus lockdown for the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival despite soaring infections and deaths.
Pre-Hajj Arrests
Saudi Arabia arrests more than 120 people suspected of supplying or procuring fraudulent coronavirus vaccine and test certificates, two days before around 60,000 Saudi residents with vaccine certificates join this year's hajj.
Olympics Rules 'Working'
Olympics chief Thomas Bach insists the Tokyo Games anti-virus rules "are working", as the Japanese capital records its highest number of new infections since January.
Jabs For Rohingya
Bangladesh is to start giving coronavirus vaccinations to some of the 850,000 Rohingya refugees who fled across the border from Myanmar, officials say.
HIV Risk Factor
HIV is a "significant" risk factor for severe COVID-19, the WHO says in research that shows a major increase in deaths among patients who have the virus that causes AIDS and are also hospitalised with COVID-19.
Students Sent Home
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) sends residential students home and says it will suspend physical attendance of lectures as fears grow over a new wave of coronavirus in Africa's most populous nation.
Boxing Title
Britain's Tyson Fury tests positive for COVID-19 and his heavyweight boxing title showdown with Deontay Wilder is postponed from 24 July to 9 October, promoters announce.
Four Million Dead
The pandemic has killed at least 4,061,908 people since the virus first emerged in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.
The United States is the worst-affected country with 608,115 deaths, followed by Brazil with 537,394, India with 411,989, Mexico with 235,507, and Peru with 194,752.
The WHO says up to three times more people have died directly or indirectly due to the pandemic than official figures suggest. – AFP