[WATCH] 15 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, active cases now stand at 113

Malta has recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19 overnight after 1,670 tests.

This means that over two days, there were 26 positive cases and nine recoveries.

Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said the number of active cases now stood at 113.

Since the start of the pandemic Malta registered 584 positive cases of coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Gauci announced that the daily live bulletins will now be replaced by live updates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the rest of the days, the daily statistics will be published on the Facebook page of the Health Ministry.

It is important that mitigation measures are observed by everyone during this transition phase to minimise the spread of the virus, which is still out there in the community Charmaine Gauci

The country has experienced a higher number of new cases for almost a week but Gauci insisted also that the number of tests has also gone up.

"At the start of the pandemic we only used to test those with symptoms, which means there may have been other people in the community without symptoms, who had the virus but were never identified. What worries me is the people who are out there with the virus and who do not know they are sick," Gauci said, adding that the testing regime was now reaching out to various groups of workers.

She acknowledged that the transmission rate, known as the R-factor, had gone above one over the past week.

The increased incidence of new cases comes three weeks after non-essential shops were re-opened and public gatherings were increased to four from three.

Government has announced the re-opening of more outlets from this Friday and further relaxation of public gatherings, which will now be limited to six people.

Restaurants, hairdressers, beauticians and nail technicians are among the outlets that will be able to open from Friday.

Gauci warned that mitigation measures introduced for every restriction that has been lifted must be adhered to.

"We will continue monitorring the numbers but it is important that mitigation measures are observed by everyone during this transition phase to minimise the spread of the virus, which is still out there in the community," Gauci said.

She insisted that if the numbers suggest a worsening of the situation, restrictive measures can be re-imposed as she emphasised the importance of responsibility by everyone.

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The 26 new cases

There were 26 new positive cases over the past two days, including 10 who were tested after experiencing symptoms, five who were tested as part of the contact tracing regime for known cases, and 11 who had no symptoms.

The new cases include six healthcare workers and one carer at an old people's home. Gauci also confirmed that there were currently 291 workers at Mater Dei Hospital who are in preventive quarantine.

Two children, aged two, also tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing stomach problems.

One of the cases is that of an 82-year-old resident at an old people's home.

Childcare facilities

Asked about the prospect of childcare facilities re-opening in three weeks' time, Gauci said risk assessments were an ongoing process and if educational institutions like childcare centres are re-opened these will be with mitigation measures.

"We felt that childcare facilities and schools should not be among the batch of activities that will re-start on Friday because the risks are too high. But assessments based on the numbers and risk factors will continue and when these facilities re-open they cannot be like we used to know them because mitigation measures will have to be in place," Gauci said.

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