By Analou De Vera The number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the country crossed the 17,000-mark on Saturday night (May 30), the Department of Health (DOH) said. The DOH announced 590 additional confirmed cases, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases nationwide to 17,224. Of the additional cases, the DOH said 252 were "fresh cases" while the remaining 338 were referred to as "late cases." The Health department said fresh cases refer to "test results that came out and were validated by the Epidemiology Bureau in the last three days." Late cases, meanwhile, are from validation backlogs or are those whose "results came out four days ago or more but were just recently confirmed." The DOH also reported that there are now a total of 3,808 recoveries, while the death toll is now at 950. Health Undersecretary Dr. Maria Rosario Vergeire said the spike in cases was a result of the DOH's "aggressive efforts to catch up with the backlog." The DOH also noted that the case doubling time, or the time it takes for cases to increase two-fold, has also slowed down from once every three to four days, to once every seven days. “Ang critical care utilization rate naman natin para sa ICU beds ay nasa 34 percent, at 18 percent naman para sa mechanical ventilators. Isa rin pong magandang indikasyon ito, dahil ibig sabihin hindi natin nasasagad ang mga gamit natin ng ICU beds at ventilators, at ibig sabihin din ay hindi natin nao-overwhelm ang ating health system (Our critical care utilization rate for ICU beds is 34 percent, while for mechanical ventilators it is 18 percent. This is also a good indication because it means that we are not using all our ICU beds and ventilators, and also that we are not overwhelming our health system),” Vergeire said in a press briefing. "Sana ay naiintindihan niyo po na kahit mataas ang mga bagong naitatalang kaso ay hindi po ibig sabihin na lumalala ang ating situation. Nawa ay napuksa na din ang pangamba sa inyong isipan ukol sa kung tama ba ang naging desisyon na mag transition to GCQ (Hopefully you understand that even with the high number of new cases, it does not mean that our situation is worsening. We hope that this cleared your anxiety on whether the decision to transition to GCQ is correct)," she added. As many areas in the country will be under GCQ starting June 1, Vergeire reiterated the practice of minimum health standards to help contain the spread of COVID-19. “Kahit nasa GCQ na tayo, hindi ito ibig sabihin na relax na rin tayo sa mga protocols natin. Sa Lunes, pagpasok ng mga may trabaho, paglabas ng bahay, huwag po kalimutang magsuot ng mask, dumistansya ng isang metro sa mga katabi, magbaon ng alcohol para sa mga kamay (While we are at GCQ, this does not mean that we should relax in our protocols. On Monday, when people go back to work, don't forget to wear a mask, maintain a one-meter distance from others, and bring alcohol for your hands),” she said.