BOGOTA, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Colombia reported Sunday 468,332 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease since the start of the outbreak here, with 164,832 cases considered active.
The death toll climbed to 15,097 after 287 more patients died in the previous 24-hour period, the Ministry of Health said.
In the same period, tests detected 11,643 new cases.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have recovered rose from 274,420 to 287,436.
The mayors of 10 towns that are part of the capital and its metropolitan area announced they were relaxing lockdown measures for the next two weeks.
"Our call is to continue preventive isolation at home, wear a face mask, wash your hands constantly and maintain social distancing," Mayor of Caldas Mauricio Cano said.
Barranquilla, a Caribbean port and resort, became the first Colombian city to announce the reopening of tourism accommodations.
Though extending mandatory preventive isolation until Aug. 30, Colombia's President Ivan Duque said localities that do not report new cases of COVID-19 will be able to gradually reopen businesses under new guidelines. Enditem
