ULAN BATOR, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported eight new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 1,592, said the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) on Friday.

"A total of 15,546 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across Mongolia yesterday and eight of them were positive," said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's Surveillance Department, at a press conference.

Seven of the latest confirmed cases were found in people who had close contact with previously confirmed cases in the country's capital city Ulan Bator and another one was a doctor of the NCCD, said Ambaselmaa.

Meanwhile, 51 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 1,097, she added.

The Asian country, with a population of around 3.3 million, has recorded two COVID-19 deaths so far.