An overnight fire at an OVHcloudserver farm in Strasbourg destroys a data center and damages another, taking millions of .fr websites offline in France, including government websites, banks, online shops, and news websites. (Reuters)
Mauritius imposes a two-week nationwide lockdown for the second time since the pandemic began, with only essential services able to continue to operate, after the discovery of 14 local COVID-19 cases. (Barron's)
Bulgaria reports 3,502 new cases in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total since December 11, and brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 266,805. (Novinite)
The Government of Malta announces that, due to record numbers of new cases, all theatres, museums, and gyms will be closed, all organised sports and religious activities will be banned, and gatherings will be limited to four people. The government also announces that all educational institutions will be closed as of March 15 and travel to Gozo will be restricted to residents and essential activities. (The Malta Independent)
Poland reports 17,260 new cases in the past 24 hours, which is the highest single-day total since November, and it subsequently brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,828,313. (Anadolu Agency)
Fiji begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine donated by the COVAX initiative. Ten frontline workers are the first to receive doses of the vaccine. (Fiji Sun)
Brazil reports a record 2,286 new deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours as intensive care units in 25 of 27 regional capitals reach near-full capacity, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 270,656. (National Post)(BBC News)