ON THE first day of the easing of quarantine restrictions in most local government units (LGUs), new cases of coronavirus infection still exceeded 200.
As of 4 p.m. Saturday, May 16, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 214 new cases, bringing the total of 12,305.
The DOH also reported 11 additional mortalities, raising the death toll from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) to 817.
Meanwhile, a total of 2,561 patients have recovered, with 101 reported in the last 24 hours.
Except in 10 areas, the Philippines eased restrictions Saturday and shifted to general community quarantine (GCQ).
Only Cebu City and Mandaue City, both highly urbanized cities in Cebu, remain under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 31.
The National Capital Region or Metro Manila, Laguna and six other areas are under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until May 31.
The six areas added to the MECQ list are Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales, and Angeles City.
The rest of the country is under GCQ, allowing several businesses to resume operations at limited capacity and provided social distancing, wearing of masks and other minimum health standards are observed. (HDT/JTM/SunStar Philippines)