COVID-19 briefing: 44 cases, 63 new recoveries and three deaths

44 new cases of COVID-19 were registered on Friday, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci announced during her weekly coronavirus briefing. 

Three more people died from COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of victims to 38. Gauci said that the details of the third death would be issued later today. 

There are now 434 active cases in Malta, after new cases climbed by 44 to 3,139 historically; and recoveries grew by 63 to 2,668 over the last 24 hours. A total of 2,252 swabs were taken over the course of the day, for a historic total of 258,809.

Gauci revealed that five persons were in the ITU.

Out of the 434 cases 23 were from Gozo. Gauci said the average age was currently 45, and the average age of death was at 94.

Turning to care homes, Gauci said that at San Guzepp home, 127 residents and 32 staff members had tested positive. In Simblija 15 residents have tested positive, San Paolo three residents tested and in St Vincent De Paul three residents also tested positive. 

She also added that 35 residents had tested positive in Casa Antonia care home. The peak for care home infections had been on 15 September however, that rate has steadily gone down.

This past week at the Malta International Airport, 197 tests were conducted on incoming travellers, resulting in six positive cases. Since the airport reopened, 806 tests were conducted which resulted in 18 positive cases. Positive cases were arriving from France, Spain, Greece, Russia, the UK,  among others.

The new COVID-19 contact tracing app has been download 67,604 times, which amounts to about 13.9% of the overall population.

Gauci declared that the ITU was well equipped and that there were currently enough beds to treat incoming patients. However, she said that as with other things there is a limitation in Malta due to the island’s size. “That is why it’s important for all those vulnerable to be vigilant to reduce the risk of ending up in the ITU,” she said 

Asked about the new rapid tests which arrived in Malta this week, which can reveal if a person has COVID in around 30 minutes, Gauci explained that there is currently an evaluation being conducted on the effectiveness of these tests.

Gauci, however, warned that persons who are displaying symptoms will still be swabbed using the previous system and not rapid testing. “Once the evaluation is conducted and it is deemed effective, the health authorities will decide where the tests are most needed,” she said. 

Gauci said, for the time being, supporters would not be allowed to return to football stadiums even at a reduced capacity. This she said was to persevere the sport, and to allow games to continue with minimum risk to players and those who worked at the stadiums.

On Wednesday, the health authorities announced that group gatherings in public had been reduced to 10 persons from 15. 

This means that in public open spaces, groups of more than 10 people will not be prohibited including in queues and at bus stops unless social distancing is maintained. 

READ MORE: COVID-19: Group gatherings in public spaces reduced to 10 people