A woman waits to be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus at a temporary free testing facility set up in a school after authorities eased restrictions in New Delhi on June 19, 2020. (XAVIER GALIANA / AFP)

TOKYO / DUBAI / CAIRO / SEOUL / ANKARA / NEW DELHI - India's federal health ministry said Saturday morning that 375 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 14,516 positive cases, were reported during the past 24 hours across the country. It took the number of deaths to 12,948 and total cases to 395,048.

This is the highest single day spike in terms of number of new COVID-19 cases in the country so far.

Afghanistan

With 546 new COVID-19 positive cases reported over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, the number of cases in the country has risen to 28,424, said a statement of Public Health Ministry released here Saturday.

 According to the statement, 21 patients have died over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 569 ince February.

In addition, 230 patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 8,292 in the country.

Australia

Australia's second most populous state announced on Saturday it will reinstate tighter restrictions on home and public gatherings after logging a double digit rise in coronavirus cases for a fourth straight day. The number of visitors to homes to five from Monday after cases began rising.

“Around half of our cases since the end of April have come from transmission inside someone’s home,” state premier Daniel Andrews said. “The numbers are being driven by families – families having big get-togethers and not following the advice around distancing and hygiene.”

Indonesia

Indonesia's oldest zoo reopened on Saturday, but to a fraction of the normal number of visitors, after being forced to close more than three months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesia reported 1,226 new coronavirus infections and on Saturday, taking its total number of cases to 45,029. 

Health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said there were 56 more deaths reported, with total fatalities now at 2,429, the highest coronavirus death toll in East Asia outside of China.

Iran

Iran plans to make wearing masks mandatory in areas with high rates of infection amid a sharp rise in the country’s fatalities and new cases, President Hassan Rouhani said on state TV without giving details. 

A regulation making face masks mandatory for subway and bus riders in Tehran has proved unsuccessful in the absence of adequate enforcement. Iran had more than 200,000 confirmed cases as of Friday.

Iraq

Iraq confirmed 1,635 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total number of infections to 27,352, of whom 12,205 have recovered.

The country also reported 69 deaths during the day, the highest single-day rise so far, bringing the death toll in Iraq to 925.

In the meantime, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan al-Tamimi said in a statement that the ministry's experts decided to use a drug from Russia to treat COVID-19.

Israel

The Israeli police conducted a special nationwide operation to enforce anti-coronavirus emergency regulations on the night between Thursday and Friday, following the recent increase in morbidity.

303 new COVID-19 cases were registered, the highest daily rise since April 23, raising the tally of coronavirus infections to 20,339.

The deaths from the virus in Israel increased by one to 304, while the recoveries rose to 15,586.

It is worth noting that the number of active cases in Israel reached 4,449, the highest since May 10.

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Japan

The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 64 to reach 17,881, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Saturday. Of the newly confirmed cases, 39 were from Tokyo. 

Meanwhile, the death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus currently stands at a total of 967 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including 13 from the cruise ship.

The Japanese government on Friday launched a free smartphone app which notifies people who have come into close contact with someone confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus.

The app, based on technology developed by Apple Inc. and Google LLC but operated by the health ministry, records situations when people come into contact with each other at less than one meter apart for fifteen minutes or more, using Bluetooth and encryption technology.

If a person tests positive for the virus, those who have come into close proximity with the infected person will be notified.

The health ministry, commenting on issues of privacy, has assured potential users that the app does not collect and store private data such as user's names, addresses, phone numbers or location.

Customers (left) purchase face masks made by Japan's Fast Retailing Co. at a Uniqlo store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district on June 19, 2020. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP)

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan has shut down public transport in the capital Bishkek and the routes between all of its provinces until Monday, Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on Saturday.

Kyrgyzstan's health ministry reported on Saturday 192 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 2,981.

Nurbolot Usenbaev, the country's deputy health minister, told a news briefing that three patients died in the country in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of fatalities to 35.

Mongolia

A total of 256 Mongolian nationals returned home from Europe on a chartered flight from Frankfurt to Mongolia's capital here on Saturday amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Mongolia has evacuated more than 10,000 nationals on chartered flights from different parts of the world, according to the SEC.

As of Saturday, Mongolia has confirmed 204 COVID-19 cases, all of which were imported.

Malaysia

Malaysia reported 21 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, pushing the country's total infections to 8,556, the Health Ministry said.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that two of the new cases are imported and of the local transmissions, seven are foreign nationals and 12 are locals.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield said at a press conference.

The patients are a couple in their 20s who returned from India on a direct repatriation flight and arrived on June 5. The couple was also travelling with an infant who has not been tested. It is still to be determined if the child is a probable case.

The total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand was 1,159, which was the number New Zealand report to the World Health Organization. The death toll in the country remained at 22.

Oman

Oman's Ministry of Health announced 852 new cases of infections, increasing the tally in the country to 27,670, including 125 deaths and 13,974 recoveries.

Palestine

The Palestinian government announced on Friday that a series of emergency meetings will be held on Saturday to debate the significant increase of COVID-19 cases in the Palestinian territories.

Reports of the medical committee on the increase of the infections will be discussed at the meetings, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye said in a press statement.

Palestine on Friday recorded 81 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number in the Palestinian territories to 870, including five deaths and 592 recoveries.

South Korea

South Korea reported 67 more coronavirus cases in 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 12,373, data from Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention show. Seoul had 13 new cases while 10 were in Gyeonggi province.

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People visit a park in Ankara on June 18, 2020. Turkish authorities have made the wearing of masks mandatory in three major cities to curb the spread of COVID-19 following an uptick in confirmed cases since the reopening of many businesses. (ADEM ALTAN / AFP)

Turkey

The daily new COVID-19 cases in Turkey declined to 1,214 after a week of a slight increase, taking the tally of infections in the country to 185,245, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

 The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose to 4,905 after 23 more fatalities were added in the past 24 hours, he said, adding 1,494 more patients recovered, raising the total recoveries to 157,516.

On the same day, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a two-day program to introduce the country's "safe tourism" concept to ambassadors to Turkey in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday announced 393 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 44,145.

UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention said in a statement that the new cases of many nationalities are all in a stable condition and receiving medical treatment.

The ministry said 755 more patients have fully recovered from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 30,996.

It also confirmed two more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 300.

Yemen

The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 919, after 10 new cases were added.

The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 288 and the death toll climbed to 251.