BOGOTA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's COVID-19 caseload rose to 607,938 on Sunday after tests detected 8,024 new cases of infection in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
The death toll climbed to 19,364 after 300 more people died of the disease in the same period.
President Ivan Duque called on the public to comply with social distancing and staying-at-home recommendations for suspected COVID-19 sufferers as strict lockdown measures are set to be lifted Tuesday throughout the country to reactivate the economy.
"We are on the verge of starting a new phase this week: selective isolation with responsible individual distancing. We know that what will mark our success is going to be responsibility shared among what the government does, what employers do and what we all do in our family and individual orbit," Duque said.
Duque announced earlier that lockdown restrictions would be eased starting September. Enditem
