COVID-19 cases drop to 80, 53rd death recorded

Malta has registered 80 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the Health Authorities have announced.

Information released by the Health Ministry on Facebook shows that there were 63 recoveries, bringing the total of active cases to 1,895.

This morning, a 73-year-old man became Malta’s 53rd victim. The man tested positive for COVID-19 on 10 October and was admitted to Mater Dei Hospital on 18 October, where he continued to be treated until his death. The health authorities said he had underlying health conditions.

Today’s cases are still being investigated but from the cases discovered yesterday, 31 cases were family members of previously known cases, eight were contacts of positive work colleagues, eight were direct contacts with other positive cases, one was from the Paceville cluster, two were imported and three were from social gatherings with other positive cases. 

2,811 swabs were conducted in the last 24 hours, with a grand total of 320,715 swabs having been conducted since the start of the pandemic

Malta has registered 5,578 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

On Monday, the Medical Association of Malta warned that urgent measures were necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19 in order to avoid the collapse of the healthcare system.