The Philippines’ Department of Health reported 208 more cases of new coronavirus in the country on May 17, bringing the total number of coronavirus infections to 12,513.
Of the new cases, 174 were in Metro Manila, which is on its second day of relaxed quarantine measures that allowed for the reopening of malls.
The Health department reported that it has already tested 184,857 people for the new coronavirus disease, 16,393 of whom have tested positive as of May 16.
The country can now conduct at least 8,670 tests daily.
Health officials said the number of those who tested positive is higher than the number of confirmed cases because the results of those who tested positive still need to be validated before being included in the tally of confirmed cases.
Much of the country is now on its third day under more relaxed quarantine measures.