People wearing face masks amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus commute on a train in Tokyo on May 25, 2020. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

WELLINGTON  / CAIRO / TOKYO / DUBAI / SINGAPORE / NEW DELHI / TOKYO - Japan aims to launch a smartphone app based on technology from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google next week to help curb the spread of coronavirus by tracking close contact with those infected, the health ministry said on Friday.

Smartphones with the app installed can detect each other via Bluetooth short-range wireless and log those who have come in close contact.

If a phone user is found to be infected, people who spent more than 15 minutes within a radius of one metre (3.3 feet) of that individual sometime over the previous 14 days will be notified that they were in close contact with a coronavirus-infected person, and be prompted to seek medical consultation.

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Such a message will be sent only if the infected individual gives consent, and the person with a positive diagnosis will remain anonymous to the receivers of the notification.

“By knowing the possibility of having come into contact with someone tested positive for the new coronavirus, (app) users can get early support from a public health centre such as an access to a diagnostic test,” a health ministry statement said.

“We expect an increase in the number of users will help prevent the spread of infection.”

Dozens of countries have launched or plan contact tracing apps to notify people quickly of possible coronavirus exposure as they look to reopen their economies, although such methods have fuelled privacy concerns.

To give smartphone users privacy protection, the app Japan will be launching does not collect names, phone numbers, user location and other personal information, the ministry said.

Japan has not suffered the explosive surge of coronavirus infections seen in some other countries. It has reported about 17,300 confirmed cases and 922 known deaths to date.

Australia

Australia has eliminated the novel coronavirus in many parts of the country, its chief medical officer said on Friday, clearing the way for sports fans to soon return to stadiums and for foreign students to prepare to fly back to classes.

Patrons drink beer at a pub in the Rocks area of Sydney on June 1, 2020. (PETER PARKS / AFP)

Australia has recorded 38 cases of the novel coronavirus over last week, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told reporters in Canberra. More than half them are travellers returning from overseas and already quarantined in hotels.

Australia’s federal government stepped up pressure on state and territory leaders on Friday to reopen internal borders, a step viewed as key to reviving the country’s coronavirus-hit economy.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the plea at a meeting of the national cabinet dealing with the crisis, two people with knowledge of the meeting said, just hours before protesters are expected to defy movement restrictions for a Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney.

Morrison said restrictions on indoor gatherings would be loosened in July with crowds of up 10,000 people allowed in seated stadiums and a trial scheme to allow foreign students to return.

India

India's health ministry said Thursday morning that 396 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides 10,956 new cases were reported during the past 24 hours across the country, taking the number of deaths to 8,498 and total cases to 297,535.

This is the largest single day spike in the country both in terms of new deaths and new cases. For the first time new cases reported in a single day surpassed 10,000.

The fifth phase of a nationwide lockdown came into force from June 1, featuring several relaxations and reopening in a phased manner.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the nationwide lockdown on March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19 and break the chain of infection. 

Migrant workers and families wait on the roadside to get transferred to a railway station before boarding special trains to Bihar and Jharkhand states after the government eased a nationwide lockdown imposed as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Chennai on June 11, 2020. (ARUN SANKAR / AFP)

Iran

Iran, which has re-emerged as the hardest-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East region, reported 2,238 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases to 180,156.

The country also reported 78 more deaths from the virus, raising the death toll to 8,584. 

So far, 142,663 patients have recovered from the infectious respiratory disease.

Singapore

Singapore is on track to lift more restrictions on companies and residents by the end of June, and expects the entire economy to reopen in that phase, according to a top minister.

“With the start of phase two, we expect, virtually the entire economy to be reopened -- shops, F&B, dining, social interactions, but there will be limits on the number of people who can get together.” Lawrence Wong, minister for national development, told Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin on Friday.

Wong, who also co-chairs the government taskforce on fighting the virus, said the country has managed to bring coronavirus infections in the city-state under control through aggressive testing and strict measures that were imposed on social distancing. 

The city-state will also try to persuade people to wear a token that will be given out later this month to improve contact tracing, he said.

An outbreak of infections among migrant workers living in crammed dormitories saw Singapore become one of the most infected countries in Asia. The country has nearly 40,000 recorded total cases of infection as of Thursday.

Iranians, mostly wearing face masks, are pictured at a metro station in the capital Tehran on June 10, 2020 amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic crisis. (PHOTO / AFP)

Indonesia

The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 1,111 within one day to 36,406, with the death toll adding by 48 to 2,048, Achmad Yurianto, a Health Ministry official, said at a press conference here on Friday.

The pandemic has spread to all the 34 provinces in the archipelagic country. However within the past 24 hours, no more positive cases were found in six provinces, namely, Aceh, Riau, Riau Islands, North Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara and Central Sulawesi.

The Indonesian government is preparing for the new normal scenario under which the public would be allowed to resume their routines. 

Iraq

The Iraqi Health Ministry on Thursday recorded 1,261 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections to 16,675 in the country.

It said that 31 more people died from the coronavirus during the day, bringing the death toll to 457, while 6,568 patients have recovered.

Israel

The number of new daily coronavirus cases in Israel surpassed 200 on Thursday, for the first time since April 25.

Israeli Ministry of Health said 214 new patients were added, bringing the total number of cases to 18,569, while the number of death cases increased from 299 to 300.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that if the increase in morbidity continues, restrictions that were lifted would have to be reimposed.

Kazakhstan 

Kazakhstan has locked down several towns and villages and tightened restrictions in one of its provinces following a spike in fresh COVID-19 cases, authorities said on Thursday, a month after ending a nationwide state of emergency.

In the central Karaganda region, retailers and public transit will work shorter hours and private cars will be banned from moving at night from June 13, the government said in a statement.

Several towns and villages will be locked down again and 70% of public sector employees in the province will work from home, it said, adding that many local residents and businesses were disregarding social distancing rules.

Kazakhstan has confirmed 13,558 COVID-19 cases with 67 deaths. It has also separately reported 2,529 asymptomatic cases.

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Kuwait

Kuwait on Thursday reported 609 new cases of COVID-19 and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 34,432 and the death toll to 279, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Kyrgyzstan 

Kyrgyzstan confirmed on Friday 37 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 2,166, according to the country's health ministry.

Meanwhile, no new deaths were recorded and the total number of fatalities remains at 26. 

Lebanon

Lebanon's number of COVID-19 infections increased on Thursday by 14 cases to 1,402, while the death toll went up by one case to 31.

A Nepali migrant worker previously stranded in Kuwait due to restrictions imposed against the spread of the COVID-19, loads her luggage on a cart while arriving at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on June 11, 2020. (PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

Mongolia

Mongolia reported three new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its total to 197, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said on Friday.

No local transmissions or deaths have been reported in Mongolia so far. 

Nepal

Nepali government has decided to relax ongoing lockdown in phase-wise manner, allowing most of the economic activities to operate by following certain health protocol including social distancing measures, a Nepali cabinet minister said.

The Nepali government had enforced nationwide lockdown starting from March 24 to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the lockdown taking huge toll on the Himalayan country's economy affecting the livelihood of tens of thousands of people, the government was facing growing pressure to reopen the economy gradually.

The decision to relax the lockdown has come despite rapid rise in COVID-19 case in the country in the recent days as the number of cases reached 4,614 with 15 deaths as of Thursday in the country.

With most of the sectors opening, public health experts have warned that the COVID-19 situation could aggravate if the social distancing policy was not effectively enforced.

New Zealand

New Zealand said on Friday that it would allow entry of some maritime vessels as it looks to open up its economy after lifting all coronavirus restrictions earlier this week.

Cruise ships and people travelling for leisure, however, will continue to be banned from entering the country, the government said in a statement.

The government said it will allow entry to those arriving at the maritime border, where there is a compelling need for the vessel to travel to New Zealand.

Border restrictions will also no longer apply to replacement cargo ship crew arriving in New Zealand by air and transferring straight to a cargo ship set to leave its shores.

Oman

The Omani government decided on Thursday to postpone the resumption of international and domestic flights over COVID-19 concerns.

It also decided to lock down Duqm, about 550 km south of the capital Muscat, in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Oman announced on Thursday 1,067 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 19,954.

The country also reported five more deaths, bringing the death toll to 89.

A couple (right) leave a cinema which is reopening following measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Tokyo on June 5, 2020. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Qatar

Qatar on Thursday announced 1,476 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the tally of the confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 75,071.

Three more patients died, raising the fatalities to 69, the Qatari Health Ministry said.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia will resume its sports activities without fans starting from June 21, taking all precautions and preventive measures, state media said on Friday.

Resuming activities includes returning to training. Playing games will start after Aug. 4, with decisions left to every sport’s union.

Saudi Arabia registered on Thursday 3,733 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 116,021.

The death toll rose to 857 cases, with the reporting of 38 new fatalities, the health ministry tweeted. 

South Korea

South Korea will extend its prevention and sanitation guidelines against the coronavirus until daily new infections drop to single digits, the health minister said on Friday, failing which he warned of a return to tough social distancing measures.

The announcement came as such cases persist in the mid-double digits following a series of new clusters in the area around Seoul, the capital, with 56 new cases on Thursday taking the national tally to 12,003, and 277 deaths.

Authorities will review whether to return to intensive social distancing if daily infections hover in that range, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a briefing.

Thailand

Thailand will end most of its remaining lockdown curbs and allow more businesses in the country to reopen on June 15 after no local coronavirus transmissions were found for over two weeks. 

Some schools and daycare centers will reopen and alcohol consumption will be permitted in restaurants and hotels, though bars and clubs will remain closed. The government said it is considering allowing some travel to the country for business and medical tourism.

Thailand is also planning to reopen to foreign visitors by creating so-called travel bubbles with countries that have also managed to contain the virus, though no target date was set, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

Turkey

In Turkey, the total number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 174,023 after 987 new infections were reported, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Thursday said.

In a single day, 17 people died, taking the death toll to 4,763, the minister said.

Koca on Thursday said nearly 85 percent of the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Turkey have recovered.

UAE

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced 479 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 40,986.

It also confirmed two more deaths, pushing the country's death toll to 286.

Yemen

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Yemen's government-controlled provinces increased to 591 on Thursday, as 31 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 remained 23 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 136 in different areas under its control, including the southern port city of Aden.