A jogger runs past people gathered during a partial lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, on April 4, 2020. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

ISLAMABAD / NEW DELHI / WELLINGTON / RIYADH / JERUSALEM / BAGHDAD / SINGAPORE / JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR / MANILA / BANGKOK / TOKYO - Australia launched a contact-tracing mobile app Sunday to boost its efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

COVIDSafe will record the digital handshake a mobile phone makes with other users of the app, according to a government statement. If someone catches the virus, they can then share that contact data with health authorities to speed up tracing.

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“We need the COVIDSafe app as part of the plan to save lives and save livelihoods,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in the statement. “The more people who download this important public health app, the safer they and their family will be, the safer their community will be and the sooner we can safely lift restrictions and get back to business and do the things we love.”

A broader testing regime and the contact-tracing app are seen as necessary for Australia to consider relaxing restrictions on the economy. The government has stressed the data will only be used by health officials and won’t be accessible by police or other federal or state agencies.

India

India's federal health ministry said Sunday morning that 45 new deaths due to COVID-19 and an additional 1,554 positive cases were reported since Saturday evening across the country, taking the number of deaths to 824 and total cases to 26,496.

In the last 24 hours the country recorded 1,990 COVID-19 cases, the biggest single-day spike so far.

Japan

Tokyo registered 72 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, Kyodo news agency reported, the lowest daily tally since April 1.

The latest figures bring total coronavirus infections in Japan’s capital city to more than 3,900 cases, according to statistics of Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

On Sunday, the total number of cases in Japan had reached 13,231, with 360 deaths, public broadcaster NHK said. The government has encouraged residents to stay indoors as much as possible during the Golden Week holiday period.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 38 new coronavirus cases on Sunday with no new deaths, Noor Hisham Abdullah, the secretary general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, told reporters at a news conference.

It has so far recorded a total of 5,780 infections, with 98 fatalities.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported nine new cases of COVID-19, including four new confirmed cases and five new probable cases, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday.

Of the new cases reported on Sunday, four are linked to existing clusters, and five are linked to known confirmed cases, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

The combined total of confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand is 1,470, with 1,142 reported as recovered, an increase of 24 from Saturday. Currently, there are seven people in hospital, including one person in the ICU.

Indonesia

Indonesia reported on Sunday 275 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 8,882, data provided by health ministry official Achmad Yurianto showed.

The data showed 23 people who tested positive for the virus died, raising the total deaths to 743.

Israel

The number of coronavirus patients in Israel has reached 15,298, after 240 new cases were added on Saturday, the health ministry said.

According to the ministry, five patients died on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 199.

The number of patients in serious condition decreased by 10 to 127, out of 408 patients in hospital, while the number of recoveries increased by 432 to 6,435.

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed 55 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number in the country to 1,763.

The 55 new cases reported during the past 24 hours were 33 in the capital Baghdad, 12 in Basra, three in Dhi Qar, two in Muthanna, Slaimaniyah and Duhok each, and one in Erbil, the ministry said in a statement.

So far, 86 have died from the disease while 1,224 recovered, the statement said, adding no death was registered during the day.

Pakistan

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to 12,723 with 269 deaths in Pakistan, according to the data updated by the country's health ministry on Sunday morning.

The data revealed that 15 patients died and 783 persons tested positive during the last 24 hours across the country. The eastern Punjab province remains the most affected region with a total of 5,378 positive cases followed by the southern Sindh province which has 4,232 confirmed cases.

A total of 1,793 cases were registered in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 722 in southwest Balochistan province, 308 in north Gilgit-Baltistan region, and 235 in the capital Islamabad.

Philippines

The Philippines’ health ministry on Sunday reported seven more fatalities due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, taking the death toll in the Southeast Asian country to 501.

It recorded 285 new cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed infections to 7,579.

A total of 862 patients have recovered.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday 1,197 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number to 16,299.

Meanwhile, 136 have died of the disease in the kingdom, after nine new deaths were reported, while the total recoveries have increased by 166 to 2,215, the health ministry tweeted.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 618 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 12,693.

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Of the newly confirmed cases, 81 percent were linked to known clusters, while the rest were pending contact tracing.

Thailand 

Thailand on Sunday reported 15 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total number of cases since its outbreak in January to 2,922 cases and 51 deaths.

Of the new cases, four were linked to previous cases, another four had no known links, while five new patients are arrivals from overseas who have been under state quarantine.