Manila, March 14 (IANS) The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 4,899 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the Southeast Asian country to 621,498.

The death toll climbed to 12,829 after 63 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

Meanwhile, 13,371 more patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 560,512, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Philippines is experiencing a new wave of Covid-19 infections in recent weeks, similar to July-August 2020 when daily cases peaked.

On Sunday, contact tracing czar Benjamin Magalong urged local government units to ramp up contact tracing efforts amid the uptick in cases.

--IANS ksk/