MANILA (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - The Philippines reported 73 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 380, the health ministry said on Sunday (March 22).

It also announced six more deaths related to the coronavirus, bringing total fatalities to 25.

Health Undersecretary Rosario Vergeire told DZBB radio that the increase in the number of confirmed cases could be "artificial", as the government is only now catching up on a backlog of tests.

The government has placed more than half of the country's population under strict home quarantine for a month to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Congress will craft a stimulus package of at least 200 billion pesos (S$5.7 billion) when it meets on Monday to discuss a supplemental budget to shore up the economy from the impact of a lockdown aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak.

"What we talked about is an amount that won't be less than 200 billion pesos in the next two months to make sure no Filipino will go hungry nor have no access to medicine," House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said in a video posted on his Facebook account after a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday.

The funds will come from non-budgetary sources, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said in the same video, adding there are no plans to raise taxes and the proposals won't hinder the government's infrastructure and poverty reduction programmes.