NEW DELHI, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 9,462,809 on Tuesday even as 31,118 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 137,621 as 482 COVID patients died since Monday morning.

There are still 435,603 active cases in the country, while 8,889,585 people have been discharged so far from hospitals after medical treatment, added the ministry's latest data.

Over the past few days, the national capital Delhi has been witnessing a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases. In the past 24 hours, as many as 3,726 new cases and 108 deaths were recorded, even as 5,824 people recovered from the pandemic, said the data released by the local health department.

Delhi's death toll has reached 9,174. The state government has decided not to reopen schools till a vaccine is available to ensure the safety of the students.

Meanwhile, the federal government's focus has been on ramping up COVID-19 testing facilities across the country. Till Monday a total of 140,379,976 tests were conducted, out of which 876,173 tests were conducted on Monday alone, said the figures released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday.

The country's Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to continue the suspension of international flights till the year-end due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with chief ministers of all states via video-conferencing to review the status and preparedness of COVID-19 response and management, with a special emphasis on eight high-focus states.

The high-focus states were Haryana, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal.