49 new COVID-19 cases, six linked to Mount Carmel Hospital

49 new cases of COVID-19 have been registered overnight, according to the latest figures released by the Health Ministry.

The ministry said that six of today’s cases formed part of the Mount Carmel Hospital cluster, four cases formed part of the Jurassic Park crew cluster and three cases were from the Balzan football club. Contact tracing is ongoing for the rest of the cases.

The ministry said that currently there are no patients in the Intensive Care Unit. It warned against misinformation and rumours of inflated numbers. The reference was to strong rumours that started doing the rounds on Wednesday morning that Malta had recorded more than 70 cases overnight. 

In the past 24 hours, 2,200 swab tests were carried out, a record amount. With a grand total of 147,411 tests having been carried out so far on the island.

Three more people have since recovered from the virus. The number of active cases now stands at 486. Since the start of the pandemic in March, 695 people have recovered from the virus and nine patients have died.

The Ministry thanked all health care workers for their hard work in battling COVID-19. It highlighted that bulk testing was the most effective measure against COVID-19, as it allowed them to isolate positive cases and quarantine those who had contact with them which further reduces the spread.

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