COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 514.2 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 6.23 million. More than 11.6 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Measles cases jumped by 79% in the first two months of this year compared to 2021, after COVID-19 and lockdowns disrupted child vaccination campaigns around the world, according to data from UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

It was announced last week that face masks will remain mandatory in Italy on public transport and in some indoor venues until 15 June.

Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths has exceeded 803,000 since the start of the pandemic in April 2020, Reuters calculations based on new data from the Rosstat state statistics service showed on Friday.

South Korea has lifted its outdoor mask mandate, although its incoming government has said it believes the move is premature.

Costa Rica is set to roll out a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccines to the immunocompromised and those over 50, the country's health ministry has announced.

Two new sub-lineages of the Omicron COVID-19 variant can dodge antibodies from earlier infection well enough to trigger a new wave, but are far less able to thrive in the blood of people vaccinated against COVID-19, South African scientists have found.

Hong Kong, SAR, is set to further ease COVID-19 restrictions, allowing bars to open until 2am and raising the number of diners permitted at a table to eight from four currently.

Africa is seeing an uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases, largely driven by a rise in cases in South Africa, the World Health Organization warned last Thursday.

South Africa has recorded the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths on the continent, with authorities now monitoring for the potential start of a fifth wave of COVID-19.

"This week new COVID-19 cases and deaths on the continent increased for the first time after a decline of more than two months for cases and one month for deaths," Benido Impouma, Director for Communicable and Non-communicable Diseases at the WHO's Africa office, told an online news conference.

Impouma said there was no evidence as yet to suggest the rise in cases was linked to any new sub-lineages or a new coronavirus variant.

The European Commission has estimated that between 60% and 80% of the EU's population has been infected with COVID-19.

The EU public health agency said reported cases had covered about 30% of the European population so far, but if unreported infections were added, cases could be as high as 350 million, about 77% of the European population.

The EU is entering a post-emergency phase in which mass reporting of cases is no longer necessary, reported Reuters.

But fresh COVID-19 surges are likely as the virus is expected to continue mutating, and therefore countries should have in place plans to shift back into emergency mode, and should ramp up vaccinations, the Commission said.