India's COVID-19 tally rises to 13,689,453, Philippines reports 8,571 new infections

HONG KONG, April 13 (Xinhua) -- More COVID-19 cases and deaths were reported in Asia-Pacific on Tuesday, as India recorded 161,736 new infections, taking the total to 13,689,453.

Besides, 879 deaths took place in the country, taking the death toll to 171,058.

This is the eighth time within this month, and the seventh consecutive day, when more than 100,000 new cases were reported in India.

There are still 1,264,698 active cases in the country, while 12,253,697 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 8,571 new infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 884,783.

The death toll climbed to 15,286 after 137 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

The Philippines is continuing its efforts to break the transmission chains by ramping up contact tracing in the next two weeks to lower the hospital occupancies, the DOH said on Tuesday.

"With the sustained high count of cases, (the government has) committed to reducing the duration of infections through increased contact tracing efficiency and strengthened active case finding through testing at the community level," the DOH said in a statement.

Malaysia reported 1,767 new infections, the health ministry said, bringing the national total to 363,940.

Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press statement that nine of the new cases are imported and with 1,758 being local transmissions.

Another 12 more deaths have been reported, bringing the death toll to 1,345.

Thailand recorded 965 new confirmed cases, bringing its total tally to 34,575 with 97 deaths, its Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said.

This is the third consecutive day for the Southeast Asian country to record daily cases at nearly 1,000.

Of the new cases, 956 were locally transmitted infections and nine were imported cases, the center said.

So far, 28,288 patients have fully recovered from the coronavirus epidemic and been released from hospitals in Thailand, and there are currently 6,190 active cases being treated in hospitals.

South Korea reported 542 more cases, raising the total number of infections to 110,688.

Of the new cases, 156 were Seoul residents and 163 were people residing in Gyeonggi province.

Fourteen cases were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 7,865.

Five more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,775.