HONG KONG, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread in Asia-Pacific countries as India reported 13,203 new cases on Monday while the Philippines registered 1,581 new cases with the tally nearing 515,000.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 10,667,736, as 13,203 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data from the federal health ministry.
According to the official data, the death toll mounted to 153,470 as 131 COVID-19 patients died since Sunday morning.
There are still 184,182 active cases in the country, while 10,330,084 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment.
The Department of Health (DOH) of the Philippines reported 1,581 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 514,996.
The death toll climbed to 10,292 after 50 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said. It added 13 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 475,422.
The Tokyo metropolitan government reported 618 new COVID-19 infections in the capital, according to preliminary figures as of 3:00 p.m. local time.
The latest figure marks the first time since Dec. 28 last year that the daily tally in the city of 14 million has dropped below the 700-mark.
The cumulative total of infections in Tokyo now stands at 94,508 people.
South Korea reported 437 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 75,521.
The daily caseload stayed below 500 for eight straight days, after peaking at 1,240 on Dec. 25.
Eleven more deaths were confirmed, leaving the death toll at 1,360. The total fatality rate stood at 1.80 percent.
Thailand confirmed 187 new COVID-19 cases and two more fatalities, according to the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration.
Thailand has so far confirmed 13,687 COVID-19 cases, with more than 9,000 of the infections being reported since the latest outbreak was first detected at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon in mid-December.
Of that total cases, 10,662 patients have recovered and been released from hospitals while 2,950 others are currently hospitalized.
Afghanistan reported 36 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, raising its national tally to 54,595, including 6,716 active cases, the country's Ministry of Public Health said.
Meanwhile, 31 people recovered during the past 24 hours while five deaths were reported, raising the death toll to 2,378, according to a ministry's statement.
Australia's medical regulator has provisionally approved the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in the country.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the country's medical regulator, announced on Monday morning that the Pfizer vaccine met safety, efficacy and quality standards and has been approved for people aged 16 and older.
It is the first vaccine to be approved for use in Australia. Enditem
