SEOUL--South Korean prosecutors on Friday questioned the leader of a secretive church sect over accusations that they hampered the government’s anti-virus response after thousands of COVID-19 infections were detected among its members in February and March.

Lee Man-hee, the 88-year-old chairman of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, was questioned for about four hours at a district prosecutors’ office in Suwon, south of capital Seoul, before being sent home after he complained about unspecified health problems, prosecution and church officials said. Hwang Seong-hyeon, a prosecutor in Suwon, said his office plans to summon Lee again for further questioning.

Lee and other Shincheonji leaders have faced suspicions of hiding some of the church’s membership and under-reporting its worship activities to health authorities to avoid broader quarantines. Prosecutors last week arrested three senior members of the church over the allegations. Lee and Shincheonji have steadfastly denied the accusation, saying that the church has been properly cooperating with health authorities.

More than 5,200 of South Korea’s 13,672 COVID-19 cases have been linked to the church so far. The church’s branch in the southern city of Daegu emerged as the biggest cluster after infections spiked in late February.

Health authorities had used an aggressive test-and-quarantine program to contain the outbreak in Daegu and nearby towns by April, but the country has seen a resurgence of the virus in the Seoul metropolitan area since late May as people increasingly venture out in the public.

Earlier, South Korean health officials were optimistic the country’s COVID-19 outbreak is coming under control. Senior Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho said the spread of the coronavirus was clearly stabilizing in the Seoul area and other major cities, where transmissions had spiked since late May.

The 60 new cases reported Friday included 39 linked to people arriving from abroad. The country is enforcing two-week quarantines on all people arriving from abroad.

The government plans to airlift more South Korean workers next week from Iraq. Health authorities have confirmed 34 cases among some 100 construction workers who returned earlier this week.

In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:

INDIA crossed 1 million coronavirus cases on Friday, prompting concerns about its readiness to confront an inevitable surge that could overwhelm hospitals and test the feeble health care system. A surge of 34,956 cases in the past 24 hours took the total to 1,003,832. The Health Ministry also reported a record 687 deaths for a total of 25,602. The grim milestone comes at a time when several Indian states are imposing focused lockdowns to stem the outbreak amid frantic efforts by local governments to protect the economy.

XINJIANG: Further restrictions are being imposed on the northwestern Chinese city of Xinjiang following a cluster of new cases. Airlines say passengers departing the city’s airport are being required to show a negative test for coronavirus and a mobile phone record showing they have a clean bill of health. The main subway line linking the city to the airport has also been shut, some residential communities closed off and restrictions imposed on use of public transport. The health department in the surrounding region of Xinjiang says five confirmed cases have been reported over the past 24 hours, along with eight cases where people have tested positive but are showing no symptoms. The other cases reported in mainland China were all imported. Xinjiang is the homeland of the Uighur Muslim ethnic minority and has long been blanketed with extreme security.

CHINA on Friday began requiring those arriving on the mainland from Hong Kong to show a negative coronavirus test taken within the previous three days and undergo 14 days of supervised quarantine to gain entry, following a new outbreak in the semiautonomous region. Notable exceptions include students and truck drivers who must cross the border daily, along with “important business people” and others recognized under bilateral policies excluding them from quarantine demands, according to the official notice. Hong Kong reported 67 new infections on Thursday, a daily high. Authorities said 63 were locally transmitted and they could not trace the source for 35 of them.

AUSTRALIA’S hard-hit Victoria state reported a new high of 428 cases and was moving to increase coronavirus testing, as New South Wales state announced stricter measures after a spike in new virus cases. Most of Victoria’s new cases and three deaths reported on Friday were in the nation’s second-largest city, Melbourne, which has been locked down since last week. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the government was increasing the number of testing sites outside Melbourne. There are currently 50 testing sites in regional Victoria.

In AUSTRALIA’S most populous state, New South Wales, eight new cases were detected. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said customer limits currently imposed on pubs would be extended to restaurants, cafes, clubs and other hospitality venues from next Friday. The state’s largest cluster, now around 42 cases, began in a Sydney pub. Other parts of Australia have been lifting restrictions.