The Philippines on Friday recorded 244 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the overall tally from the pandemic to 20,626, as the country shifted to eased quarantine restrictions.

Of the new infections, 168 were “fresh cases” while 76 were considered “late cases,” the Department of Health (DOH) said in its latest updated bulletin.

Fresh cases are those who had their test results released and validated in the last 3 days, while late cases were validated and confirmed late, the DOH said.

Central Visayas recorded the most number of fresh cases with 127, followed by National Capital Region with 24. Some 17 others came from other regions.

Of the late cases, the National Capital Region had 24, Central Visayas had 11 and 41 came from other regions.

The respiratory illness, caused by the novel coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2, also claimed another 3 lives, latest figures showed.

The nationwide death toll now stands at 987.

Meanwhile, cases of recoveries jumped by 82 over the previous day, raising the tally to 4,330, according to official data.

The coronavirus pandemic has sickened nearly 6.5 million people, including 386,000 deaths, since it emerged in China last December, according to the World Health Organization./Stacy Ang