[WATCH] COVID-19 briefing: 243 new cases, 334 recoveries and two deaths

243 new cases of COVID-19 were registered on Thursday, the health ministry has said.

133,871 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered until Wednesday. Of which 41, 621 were second doses.   

Total recoveries stand at 24,118, while total cases registered stand at 27,515.

There are 3,034 active COVID-19 cases.

Two persons died in the last 24-hours, one man aged 75 and one woman aged 76. Both of whom died at Mater Dei Hospital. 

The total number of deaths is 363. 

772,206  swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of swabs to 4,760.

Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said that 29 people were in the ITU at Mater Dei Hospital. 

Other admissions: 13 in infectious diseases unit • 87 in other wards • 8 in Gozo hospital (3 ITU) • 19 in Sir Paul Boffa hospital • 21 in St Thomas hospital • 31 in the Good Samaritan facility • 16 in Mount Carmel • 5 in Karin Grech hospital. 

Gauci said the 7-day moving average now stands at 268 cases. The average age is 39-years-old. 

She said more staff had been added to man the 145 vaccine helpline. It now has 50 people dedicated to it from 6am until 9pm. She urged the public to use the helpline responsibly and to be patient, and wait for an invitation to receive the vaccine. 

Gauci said that the UK variant made up 75.7% of all cases in Malta. Three out of every four new cases found this week were related to the UK variant. Three cases of the South African variant were also found in Malta and are under investigation. 

Gauci said the situation at care homes has improved, with only a few cases reported, none of which were serious. 

Asked why lotto booths were allowed to remain open this time around, Gauci said after an assessment it was found to be low risk. 

Household clusters remain a problem

Gauci said private gatherings have now been limited to two households; this was because most new cases are related to household clusters.

Gauci said that the number of active cases had gone down. 142 of the active cases are in Gozo. Most cases are in the 20-49 age bracket.

The majority of deaths were people aged 80 to 84, but the average age has gone down, mainly because many old people have now been vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccine invitations

Gauci said errors like people receiving a vaccine invite after having already received it might be down to them being on more than one list. She said it was important people cancel the second appointment.

Gauci said that there had been no serious adverse effects reported in Malta when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Gauci said the vaccine timeline doesn’t currently include the Jassen vaccine, so the news that it would not be available in the European Union until April does not affect Malta’s vaccine roll-out.