People walk down a street on the first day of the easing of restrictions in Wellington on April 28, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP)

JERUSALEM / ADEN / MUSCAT / ANKARA / WELLINGTON –The Ministry of Health reported no cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand on Sunday, 23 days since the last new case was reported in the country.

The combined number of confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand was 1,504, including 1,154 confirmed cases, which is the number reported to the World Health Organization, said a ministry statement.

The death toll in New Zealand was 22, and the number of recovered cases was 1,482, the statement said.

Australia

Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, will allow as many as 50 people to attend religious ceremonies and be seated in pubs and restaurants from June 22 as part of the latest easing of social distancing requirements.

Sports training and competition for people 18 years or younger will resume while non-contact sports can return for all age groups, Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement Sunday. Indoor sports centers and gyms will be able to have as many as 20 people per space.

Australia has 7,302 cases and has recorded 102 deaths from COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Iran

Iran, which has re-emerged as the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East region, reported 2,410 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 184,955.

The country also reported 71 new deaths from the virus, raising the death toll to 8,730. A total of 146,748 coronavirus patients have recovered, with 2,755 still in critical condition.

On the same day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the Iranian government will restore the strict restrictions relating to the novel coronavirus if it is forced to do so for the sake of the people's safety.

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Palestine

Palestine recorded on Saturday six new COVID-19 cases in the West Bank, raising the total number in the Palestinian territories to 673 since March 5, including five deaths and 570 recoveries.

In the mean time, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca warned of an increase in the daily new number of COVID-19 cases in the country after 1,459 new infections were reported, taking the tally to 176,677.

"The increase in the number of cases is a warning to those who do not comply with the measures," Koca tweeted.

The death toll from the coronavirus in the country rose to 4,792 after 14 new fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said, adding that 985 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 150,087.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia announced 3,366 new cases and 39 more deaths, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 123,308 and the death toll to 932.

The kingdom also reported 1,519 more recovered patients, taking the total recoveries to 82,548.

Qatar

Qatar's health ministry on Saturday announced 1,828 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 78,416.

"Some 1,956 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 55,252, while the fatalities remain 70," the official Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry.

A total of 286,830 persons in Qatar have undergone lab tests for COVID-19 so far, it added.

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced 491 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 41,990.

UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said in a statement the new cases, which include many nationalities, are in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

The ministry said 815 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 26,761.

The ministry also confirmed one more death, pushing the country's death toll to 288.

The UAE was the first among the Gulf countries to report COVID-19 cases

Oman

The Omani Ministry of Health announced on Saturday 1,006 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 22,077.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, all the new cases, including 435 Omanis, are related to community contact.

The statement also said 41 patients of COVID-19 have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 7,530 and three new deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 99.

Israel

The number of coronavirus active cases in Israel has risen to 3,315, the highest since May 17, the state's Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

According to the ministry, 177 new cases were recorded on Saturday, compared to just 47 new recoveries.

This brings the total number of cases to 18,972, and the number of recoveries to 15,357.

The number of death cases remained 300, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 34 to 35, out of 129 patients currently hospitalized.

Iraq

The Iraqi authorities on Saturday decided to implement a former decision of partially lifting the nationwide curfew starting from Sunday.

A statement by Iraqi Health Ministry said that "the curfew will be lifted from 5:00 am (0200 GMT) to 6:00 pm. (1500 GMT)."

The authorities adopted other restrictions, including wearing masks and preventing religious and social gatherings, the statement quoted Hazim al-Jumaili, the deputy health minister, as saying.

He confirmed that there would be fines and severe penalties against those who violate the health instructions, especially gatherings, asserting that such legal procedures will include Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces, according to the statement.

The new restriction measures came as the Health Ministry said in a separate statement that the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country increased to 18,950 after a record of 1,180 daily infections were added.

It said that 53 more people died from the coronavirus during the day, bringing the death toll to 549, while 7,515 patients have recovered.

Jordan

Jordan on Saturday reported 38 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 953.

Seven patients recovered on Saturday, bringing the overall number of recoveries to 678, while the death toll stood at nine.

Yemen

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 705 on Saturday, as 73 new cases were confirmed.

The Yemeni Health Ministry said in a brief statement that during the past 24 hours, the number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas increased to 39 since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus on April 10.

Also, the government announced that the death toll from the deadly respiratory disease climbed to 160 in different areas under its control, including the southern port city of Aden.

The Yemeni government has taken several measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, including imposing a partial overnight curfew in Aden and other major cities under its control.

Turkey

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Saturday warned of an increase in the daily new number of the novel coronavirus cases of the country.

"The increase in the number of cases is a warning to those who do not comply with the measures," Koca tweeted.

Turkey's COVID-19 cases increased by 1,459 and the total cases climbed to 176,677, he said.

Meanwhile, 14 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 4,792, the minister stated.

Turkey conducted 45,092 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 2,586,995, he said.

A total of 985 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 150,087 in Turkey since the outbreak, Koca said, noting that 684 patients are being treated at the intensive care units and 284 are intubated.

Singapore

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 347 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 40,197.

Of the new cases, 99 percent are linked to known clusters, while the rest are pending contact tracing.

Overall, the number of new cases in the community has increased, from an average of seven cases per day in the week before, to an average of eight per day in the past week. The number of unlinked cases in the community has also increased, from an average of two cases per day in the week before, to an average of four per day in the past week.

Pakistan

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has surged to 132,405 after 6,472 people tested positive of the disease on Friday, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the disease in the country, according to the statistics released by the health ministry of Pakistan on Saturday.

A total of 2,551 people died of the disease whereas 50,056 others recovered from it. The mortality rate is 1.9 percent while the recovery rate has been reported as 37.8 percent.

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Thailand

Bangkok's nighttime entertainment venues remain temporarily closed despite easing restrictions and end of curfew from Monday, announced Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokesman Phongsakorn Kwanmuang on Sunday.

Bars, karaoke lounges and other entertainment venues throughout Bangkok remain temporarily closed for fear that such places would be otherwise crowded with people getting together for drinks, thus increasing the risk COVID-19 infections, Phongsakorn said.

Mongolia

Mongolia reported no new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, with its total confirmed cases remaining at 197, the National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Sunday.

Meanwhile, three more patients have recovered from the disease, taking the total to 98, Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the surveillance department of the NCCD, said at a daily press conference.

All the 197 confirmed cases, including five foreigners, were imported, mostly from Russia.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan on Sunday reported 78 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing its national tally to 2,285.

Health authorities said in a report that out of the new cases, 39 were detected among the people who had contact with the infected, four were imported and the remaining 35 had unknown sources.

Among the new infections were 9 medical workers, bringing the total number of the country's contracted medical workers to 438, including 341 recoveries, the report said.

The report said 69 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, and so far 1,791 people in the country have recovered from the coronavirus epidemic.

India

India's federal health ministry said Sunday morning that 311 new deaths of COVID-19 and 11,929 more positive cases were reported, taking the number of deaths to 9,195 and total cases to 320,922.

"As on 8:00 am (local time), today 9,195 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," reads information released by the ministry.

This is so far the highest single-day spike in the cases.

According to officials, 162,379 people have so far been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

South Korea

South Korea reported 34 more cases of the COVID-19 compared to 24 hours ago as of 0:00 a.m. Sunday local time, raising the total number of infections to 12,085.

The daily caseload moved between 30 and 60 for the past two weeks. Of the new cases, three were imported, lifting the combined figure to 1,333.

Small cluster infections were still found linked to religious gatherings, language institute, call center, nursing home, and health product retailer in the metropolitan area.

No more death was reported, leaving the death toll at 277. The total fatality rate stood at 2.29 percent.

A total of 27 more patients were discharged from quarantine after making full recovery, pulling up the combined number to 10,718. The total recovery rate was 88.7 percent.

Cambodia 

Cambodia reported two new imported COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases in the kingdom to 128, said a health ministry's statement on Sunday.

The new COVID-19 positive patients are local men, aged 22 and 29, who arrived here from Indonesia via a direct flight on Friday, the statement said, adding that the patients are undergoing treatment at isolation wards in the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital.

The country has recorded a total of 128 confirmed cases to date, with 125 patients cured and three remained hospitalized, Vandine said.

Maldives 

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Maldives has crossed 2,000, local media reported on Sunday.

The total number of cases in the Maldives stands at 2,013, with 794 of these being active patients and eight currently hospitalized for treatment, according to the latest data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).

So far, 1,217 people have fully recovered from the virus and the country's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 60 percent. Eight COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, with half of them being over the age of 80.

Indonesia

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 857 within one day to 38,277, with the death toll adding by 43 to 2,134, Health Ministry official Achmad Yurianto said at a press conference on Sunday.

He said 755 more people had been discharged from hospitals, making the total number of recovered patients stand at 14,531.

The pandemic has spread to all the 34 provinces in the archipelagic country.

Within the past 24 hours, no new positive cases were found in six provinces, namely, Riau, Riau Islands, Jambi, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan and Gorontalo.

The Philippines

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines rose to 25,930 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 539 more infections on Sunday.

The DOH said in its bulletin that the number of recoveries further climbed to 5,954 after 248 more patients have survived the disease.

The death toll also increased to 1,088 after 14 more patients have succumbed to the viral disease, the DOH added.

Laos

Laos has conducted 10,146 tests for COVID-19 since January, according to the National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Laos has been carrying out tests daily for the COVID-19 since January, with the total number of tests reaching 10,146, with 19 cases tested positive, Center of Information and Education for Health under Lao Ministry of Health reported in its press release on Sunday.

Among 10,146 people who have done such test for the virus, 19 cases have been confirmed and all of them have been discharged from hospitals.

Laos reported no new case of COVID-19 for 63 consecutive days, according to the report.