HONG KONG, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Asia-Pacific countries as India's COVID-19 tally reached 8,958,483 on Thursday, while Japan reported its record-high daily cases as Tokyo raised the virus alert.

India's COVID-19 tally reached 8,958,483 as 45,576 new cases were registered across the country in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.

With 585 deaths since Wednesday morning, the total death toll in the country due to the pandemic mounted to 131,578.

There are currently 443,303 active COVID-19 cases in the country, while 8,383,602 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia increased by 4,798 in the past 24 hours to 483,518, with the death toll rising by 97 to 15,600, the Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry, 4,265 more people were discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 406,612.

Japan reported 2,208 new daily COVID-19 cases, renewing a record number of daily infections for a second consecutive day, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities.

The latest rise in cases brought the nation's total cases to 125,752, not including those connected to the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo earlier in the year.

In the capital of Tokyo, the epicenter of the country's outbreak, 534 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, exceeding the 500-mark for the first time and bringing the cumulative total to 36,256, the highest among the country's 47 prefectures.

As the number of new confirmed cases has continued to rise, the Tokyo metropolitan government decided to raise its virus alert by one notch to the highest level, meaning "infections are spreading."

The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported 1,337 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the national tally to 413,430.

The Philippines has posted 10 consecutive days with less than 2,000 cases since Nov. 10.

The DOH said 286 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 374,939. The death toll climbed to 7,998 after 41 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic.

South Korea reported 343 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Wednesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 29,654.

The daily caseload stayed above 300 for two straight days, growing in triple digits for 12 days running due to the continued small cluster infections in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province as well as imported cases.

Two more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 498. The total fatality rate stood at 1.68 percent.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health confirmed 253 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of patients in the country to 44,177, including 7,188 active cases.

Five patients died within the period, taking the death toll to 1,650 since February, the statement said.

Forty-four new recoveries were recorded since early Wednesday.

New Zealand reported two new cases of COVID-19, both detected in recent returnees in managed isolation.

Of these recent returnees, one person arrived from Moscow via London, Qatar and Brisbane on Nov. 14 and the other arrived from Dubai on the same day, according to the Ministry of Health.

There are currently 37 active cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The country's total number of confirmed cases is 1,654, said a ministry statement.