[WATCH] Two new cases of COVID-19 as recoveries bring active cases down to 51

Two new cases of COVID-19 were registered in Malta overnight and eight patients have recovered, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said.

There are now 51 active cases of coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic in March, 562 people recovered from the virus and nine patients died.

The two cases were picked up in the latest round of swab tests, with 1,030 tests being carried out in the past 24 hours. A grand total of 71,723 tests have been carried out so far on the islands.

Of the six new patients registered since Friday, three are a Pakistani family which returned to Malta on two different repatriation flights.

A man, woman and a child aged 14 months are all suffering from the virus. They returned on two different flights from Frankfurt in May.

The other three cases are: an Englishman, aged 77, who is a patient at Mater Dei Hospital, a 23-year-old Maltese woman and a 26-year-old Indian woman.

Gauci said that the number of cases was stable, citing that the health authorities are continuing with their proactive approach, testing, as well as contact tracing.

Gauci said that Malta had reached this point because of the mitigation measures that had been put into place, including the use of masks and or visors, social distancing and hand sanitizers - which she said played a role in Malta being able to reopen.

"As we relax more measures on Friday, we want to keep following the basic principles: social distance, hygiene and wearing of masks or visors," she said.

Masks are not needed at nightclubs, restaurants and bars, she added.

Child care centres would have less children to ensure social distancing but group them together, so they are like a family unit, she said.

She said that vulnerable people - the over 64s, pregnant and those with a list of specific conditions - can "now go out" and a legal notice ordering them to stay inside will be lifted.