Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:
Ukraine's Record Deaths
Ukraine reports a record of 538 deaths over the past 24 hours as the country sees a surge in infections that parallels neighbouring Russia as they both struggles to roll out jabs to vaccine-sceptical populations.
NZ's Record Cases
New Zealand also hits a new record with the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic as a Delta-variant outbreak that dashed the nation's "zero COVID" policy shows no signs of abating.
Latvia Lockdown
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins says the Baltic state will go into lockdown for a month due to spiralling infections and a poor vaccination rate.
Saint Petersburg Surge
Russia's second city is tightening restrictions to battle a surge in cases, introducing a health pass to access events.
Pfizer For Children
Pfizer-BioNTech submits an authorisation request to Health Canada for the use of its vaccine for children aged 5-11.
'Mix And Match' Booster
The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to allow "mix and match" vaccine boosting, in which people get a different additional shot to the dose they initially received, US media reports.
No Jab, No Match
Unvaccinated tennis stars are unlikely to get visas to play in the Australian Open, throwing defending champion Novak Djokovic's participation in the Grand Slam tournament into serious doubt.
Anti-Vax Coach Fired
The head coach of Washington State's college football team has been fired along with four assistant coaches after refusing to get a jab, the university confirms.
Free Speech Crackdown
Oppressive regimes around the world have used the pandemic to crack down on critics, Amnesty International says, describing "unprecedented" curbs on freedom of expression.
Singapore Eases Travel
Singapore begins quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated passengers from eight countries, part of a plan to ease restrictions as the business hub gears up to live with the virus.
NBA Vaccine Coverage
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says around 96 percent of players in the league have now been vaccinated despite union opposition to a league-wide mandate.
4.9 Million Dead
The coronavirus has killed at least 4,902,638 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP on Tuesday.
The US has suffered the most COVID-related deaths with 726,201, followed by Brazil with 603,465, India 452,454, Mexico 284,477 and Russia 225,325.
Based on latest reports, the countries with the most new deaths were the US with 1,832, Russia with 1,015 and Ukraine with 538.
Taking into account excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the overall death toll could be two to three times higher. – AFP