Medical staff wait for passengers at Incheon International Airport in South Korea in April. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

JERUSALEM / ANKARA / JERUSALEM / BAGHDAD / MELBOURNE —South Korea’s health authorities will limit the entry of foreigners from some countries where COVID-19 infections are surging through a temporary restriction on flights and visa issuances.

With the exception of important business trips or visits by government officials, Korean authorities will restrict issuance of visas “as much as possible,” and put a temporary ban on non-scheduled flights from countries where the virus is widely spreading, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in a statement on Sunday.

The measures will “immediately take effect” for visitors from Pakistan and Bangladesh, which account for some of the recent cases in South Korea, it said. New cases surged by 67 on Saturday in South Korea, the highest net increase since May 27, amid concern over second waves. Twenty-three out of the 67 cases were visitors from Pakistan or Bangladesh.

The nation reported 48 more cases on Sunday, bringing the total to 12,421. There were no additional deaths.

A mask-clad laborer stands outside his workplace in the Saudi capital Riyadh on June 6, 2020, as lockdown measures are eased amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (PHOTO / AFP)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia will resume all commercial activities and lift restrictions on movement even as coronavirus cases show no signs of easing.

The curfew will be lifted across the nation from 6am on Sunday but international travel and the Muslim pilgrimage known as Umrah will continue to be banned, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday.

Social distancing remains in place and wearing of masks is mandatory. Gatherings can’t exceed 50 people.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced on Saturday the registration of 3,941 new coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia, increasing the total to 154,233.

The fatalities reached 1,230 cases after 46 more people died from COVID-19 in the kingdom. The recoveries rose to 98,917 with the reporting of 3,153 new recovered cases.

Australia

Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria, on Sunday extended its state of emergency for four more weeks to July 19, as it battles a spike in coronavirus infections with a pick-up in community transmission.

The move came a day after the state announced it would reimpose restrictions capping visitors to households to five people and outdoor gatherings to 10, starting Monday. The limits had been relaxed to allow 20 people in households and public gatherings on June 1.

Victoria reported 19 new infections on Sunday, the fifth day of double digit-rises. The state has now had 1,836 total confirmed cases, or a quarter of the cases in Australia, since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted.

State health minister Jenny Mikakos said 210 of the state’s cases are believed tied to community transmission, partly blaming families who have had big parties, lunches and dinners attended by people with mild symptoms since restrictions were eased on June 1.

ALSO READ: India reports biggest daily spike of over 14,000 infections

Israel

The number of coronavirus patients in Israel rose to 20,633, with 294 new cases, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

According to the ministry, the number of death cases rose from 304 to 305, while the number of patients in serious condition increased from 39 to 40, out of 192 patients currently hospitalized.

The number of recoveries reached 15,659, with 73 new recoveries, while the number of active cases rose to 4,668, the highest since May 10.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel's Corona National Information and Knowledge Center (CNIKC) released a report stating that the daily number of new patients in the state will exceed 1,000 in about a month.

The minister also said 41,112 tests were conducted over the past day, and the overall number of tests reached 2,904,744.

Iran

Iran's confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 202,000 on Saturday, while Turkey's tally surpassed 186,000.

Iran, which has re-emerged as the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East region, reported 2,322 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to 202,584.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 9,507 people in Iran, up by 115 in the past 24 hours. A total of 161,384 coronavirus patients have recovered, while 2,842 are still in critical condition.

Qatar

Qatar's health ministry on Saturday announced 1,026 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 86,488.

Kuwait

Kuwait on Saturday reported 467 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 39,145 and the death toll to 319, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 8,100 patients are receiving treatment in Kuwait, including 180 in ICU, according to the statement.

Yemen

The total number of coronavirus cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 922, after three new cases were added.

The number of recoveries in the government-controlled areas, including the southern port city of Aden, increased to 328 and the death toll climbed to 254.

Palestine

Palestine on Saturday declared a new set of restrictions after a new spike in COVID-19 infections in the country.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced a set of restrictions, including a five-day lockdown of the southern West Bank Hebron district, as its registered cases reached 280.

After a meeting of the high emergency committee, Ishtaye told reporters in Ramallah that movement in and out of Hebron district will be barred for five days, starting on Saturday night, while the second hardest-hit district of Nablus, in the north of the West Bank, will be put under a 48-hour lockdown.

The measures are aimed at allowing medical teams to contain the outbreak, while allowing the movement of goods and the operation of some factories, in addition to pharmacies and bakeries, while following strict precautionary health protocols.

On Saturday alone, 108 cases of coronavirus were registered in Palestine, bringing the total up to 979 cases.

Turkey

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey increased by 1,248 in the past 24 hours, and 22 more people died, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Saturday.

The total confirmed coronavirus cases in the country climbed to 186,493, while the death toll reached 4,927, the minister said on his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, 1,312 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, making the total number of recovered cases 158,828, according to Koca.

The United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday announced 388 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 44,533.

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

And 758 more patients have made full recovery from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 31,754, according to the ministry.

The ministry also confirmed one more death, pushing the country's death toll to 301.

Iraq

The Iraqi health ministry on Saturday recorded 1,870 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 29,222.

The new cases included 675 in the capital Baghdad, 185 in Sulaimaniyah, 152 in Basra, 146 in Wasit and 100 in Karbala, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement also reported 88 deaths during the day, the highest single-day rise so far, as the total number of deaths jumped to 1,013 in the country, while 13,211 patients have recovered.

The new cases were recorded after 10,022 testing kits were used across the country during the past 24 hours, and a total of 435,214 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, according to the statement.

Vietnam

Vietnam reported no new cases of COVID-19 infection on Saturday, with its total confirmed cases remaining at 349 with zero deaths so far, according to its Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, one more patient was announced clear of the disease, bringing the total cured case in the country to 327, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Vietnam has recorded no local transmission for 65 straight days while there are about 10,500 people being quarantined and monitored in the country, the news agency reported.

READ MORE: Japan to lift domestic travel restrictions Friday

Lebanon

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Saturday by 26 cases to 1,536 while the death toll remained unchanged at 32, the National News Agency reported.

The Lebanese health ministry has conducted PCR tests for Palestinian refugees in Mieh Mieh camp and Syrian refugees in different camps all over the country.

Lebanon has been fighting against COVID-19 since Feb. 21.

The country has received several donations from different countries for the fight against COVID-19.

The latest foreign support received by Lebanon for the fight against the pandemic was from China last week which offered 17,500 masks, 1,500 protective gears, 1,320 goggles and 1,000 shoes covers to Lebanese public hospitals.

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan's COVID-19 cases reached 3,151 on Sunday, with 170 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours.

Of the new confirmed cases, 10 are medical workers, taking the number of infected medical workers to 556, with 387 recoveries, the country's Deputy Health Minister Nurbolot Usenbaev said at a news briefing.

He said that two more virus-related deaths were registered in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 37.

Currently, 528 people are still in hospitals, with 11 patients in intensive care units, while 2,011 patients have been discharged from hospitals, he added.

Afghanistan 

Afghanistan reported on Sunday 409 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, taking the country's total to 28,833, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.

Within the past 24 hours, 1,007 tests were conducted, and 409 were positive cases, the ministry said in a statement.

Up to 581 deaths have been recorded since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in February, an increase of 12 within the past 24 hours.

The Afghan health authorities have conducted 64,958 tests as of Sunday morning across the country.

New Zealand

New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, making the total case number to 1,161 in the country, Ministry of Health said in a statement.

As with the five other cases reported last week, the two new cases were recent arrivals from overseas and both were detected within the managed isolation facilities, said the Ministry of Health.

Sunday's first case was the child of the couple announced on Saturday as cases who have recently arrived from India. The child was under 2 years old.

The second confirmed case on Sunday was a 59-year-old woman who travelled from Delhi and arrived in Auckland on June 15.

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield had reiterated that as New Zealanders returning home from overseas, there were always new cases to expect.

Mongolia 

Mongolia reported two new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 206, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said Sunday.

"A total of 314 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across the country yesterday and two of them were positive," the NCCD's head Dulmaa Nyamkhuu told a daily press conference.

Malaysia 

Malaysia reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the national total to 8,572, the country's health ministry said.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that three cases are imported, with the 13 local transmissions being nine foreign nationals and four Malaysians.

Of the remaining 295 active cases, three are being held in intensive care and none of them are in need of assisted breathing.

Another 10 cases had been released bringing the total number cured and discharged to 8,156 or 95.1 percent of all cases.

No new deaths had been reported, leaving the total death toll at 121.

The Philippines

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 30,052 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 653 more infections on Sunday.

The DOH said in its bulletin that the number of recoveries further rose to 7,893 after 243 more patients have survived the disease.

The death toll increased to 1,169 after 19 more patients have succumbed to the disease, the DOH added.

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh recorded over 3,500 more COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total in the country to 112,306.

Senior health ministry official Nasima Sultana said in a briefing on Sunday afternoon that "3,531 new COVID-19 positive cases and 39 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh."

"The total number of positive cases is now 112,306 and the death toll stands currently at 1,464," she added.

According to the official, 15,585 samples were tested in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

She said 1,084 more COVID-19 patients were announced as recovered during the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries so far to 45,077.