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Malta has registered six new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 384 cases since March, 7. This was confirmed by the Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci who declared that the local health authorities are expecting an increase in the COVID-19 cases.

Prof. Gauci also said that till now the health authorities cannot find out exactly how people are getting infected with the virus, and declared that Malta can only return to normality when the cases start to increase and when the authorities manage to control the local transmissions.

The new cases announced today include three foreigners, one of them a Maroccan migrant residing at the Ħal Far open centre, and the other two are a Norwegian woman and a Nepalese, both living in Malta. The other three cases are three Maltese man, aged between 32 and 59.

The Superintendent of Public Health said that she feels disappointed that not everyone is following the authorities’ measures; referring to over 100 people who were fined on Easter Sunday. She also said that the public is continuously being urged to remain at home to avoid the spread of the coronavirus within the community. “If people do not follow the orders, authorities would have to implement more rigid measures,” added Prof. Gauci.

Malta has registered the third patient who has died of coronavirus. The victim is an 84-year-old male. In a statement issued on Saturday morning, the Ministry for Health said that the man tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday when he was admitted to hospital. The Ministry said that the man was also suffering from other medical conditions.

Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci confirmed another 20 new cases of coronavirus, bringing a total of 370. One of the new cases is the 84-year-old man who died in the past hours but half of new cases are resident migrants at Hal Far open centre. All residents, over 1,000 migrants are kept in quarantine.

The other cases are an Albanian woman residing in Gozo who works as a cleaner at the Gozo General Hospital, a Gozitan woman who works as a carer and another carer from Malta, aged 42, were also found positive. Three other Maltese women were confirmed positive to COVID-19; one of them is a student who has recently went to a retail shop mentioned recently by the authorities where coronavirus cases were found. In this case, the student also made contact with an elderly relative who is considered as vulnerable. Three Maltese man were also found positive in the last 24 hours. One of the men was in contact with some of his friends and he also visited their homes while he was feeling sympyoms.

Professor Gauci said she felt disappointed that on Good Friday, several people did not follow the authorities’ instructions and went out to the beach. In view of this, the Maltese Prime Minister, Robert Abela has also warned that the government is prepared to impose harsher measures, if people continue to ignore the regular advice issued by the authorities. He said that the coming two weeks are very crucial as the coronavirus in Malta is expected to reach its peak.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Following the declaration by the Maltese government that it will no longer accept or offer a safe place to irregular migrants, Malta’s position was formally communicated to Libya, Italy and Germany during meetings held between the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo and the Minister for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement Byron Camilleri, and the countries’ respective ambassadors to Malta. In their meeting with the Libyan ambassador, the Maltese Ministers discussed the situation in Libya, where the instability has not only hindered its capacity to deal with the coronavirus, but has also led to the release of migrants from detention centres, with people smugglers ready to seize the opportunity. This has increased the risk facing southern European countries, with Italy shutting down its ports to irregular migrants moments before Malta followed suit.
Minister Byron Camilleri spoke with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, and stressed that the European Union must shoulder its responsibility, particularly in these trying times. Throughout these talks, the Maltese Ministers reiterated Malta’s position that, in the current circumstances, the country’s resources, particularly the disciplined corps and the health authorities, are working around the clock to save lives on the ground and by no ways or means can Malta guarantee rescuing lives at sea.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Malta has registered 13 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 340. The Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci confirmed that four of the new cases are of healthcare workers in three different hospitals; the Gozo General hospital, Zammit Clapp hospital and Karen Grech hospital. Meanwhile a woman, aged 88, was confirmed positive at Saint Vincent de Paule residence for the elderly.

The local health authorities said that the respective hospitals took the necessary measurements to control the transmission of COVID-19. Regarding the old people’s home, Prof. Gauci said that the local authorities are constantly reviewing the situation and will take the necessary measures.

Gauci appealed again to the public to avoid contact with people and to avoid going out unnecessarily in order to help stop the spreading of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Maltese government informed the European Commission that no more migrants would be allowed to enter Malta. The Government said that since the Superintendent of Public Health declared a public health emergency, it decided that allowing migrants into the country would prejudice all the efforts being made to prevent the spread of the virus. Late last night the last group of around 70 migrants were allowed to disembark in Malta.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Malta has registered the first death caused by COVID-19. This was confirmed on 8 April in a press conference addressed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Chris Fearne.

The victim is a 92-year old woman from Gozo who had been tested positive to coronavirus. The elderly woman passed away this evening at the Gozo General hospital.

“Unfortunately, this will not be the first nor the last death related to COVID-19. We are doing the best to ensure that the number of people that contract the virus remains low,” said Chris Fearne. The Deputy Prime Minister added “we know that COVID-19 can give rise to complications and can lead to death.” The woman was a vulnerable person with a number of health related issues including heart and kidney problems and diabetes.

The health minister expressed his condolences to the victim’s family.

The Ministry for Health in the morning of 9 April announced that a second patient has died of coronavirus. The victim is a 79-year-old male.

The man was being treated at Karen Grech Hospital. He tested positive for coronavirus on the 6th of April. The victim was suffering from other chronic illness.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Malta has registered a record number of COVID 19 positive cases in the last 24 hours since the first case was registered a month ago. Addressing a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Chris Fearne confirmed 52 new coronavirus cases. 4 of the new cases are Gozitans and most of the rest are Maltese. This brings the total to 293 confirmed cases in Malta and Gozo.

Minister Fearne said that the health authorities were not taken by surprise and were expecting such a large number of confirmed new cases in just 24 hours. He declared that the Maltese government is not planning any total lockdown but reiterated that people who do not need to go out are encouraged to stay safe at home. The deputy Prime Minister appealed to employers to implement teleworking in order to reduce the possibility of coronavirus contact.

The press conference was also addressed by the Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci who gave the details of the new COVID-19 cases. 39 of the new cases; 37 are Maltese, 3 from Gozo and 2 foreign nationals residing in Malta. 12 other news cases were confirmed today before noon; 9 Maltese, 1 Gozitan, 2 Indians and a man from Somalia who lives in the community.

She said that the drastic increase in positive cases of coronavirus could be a result of an increase in medical tests being carried out by the local health authorities. He urged the public to reach out to medical professionals if they feel symptoms similar to those of COVID 19.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Malta has registered another 14 new cases of local trasmitted coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci said that these new cases bring a total of 241 patients, including five individuals who have fully recovered and have been placed under quarantine.
Meanwhile on Sunday evening, more than 1,000 migrants at Hal Far Open Centre have been placed under mandatory quarantine for fourteen days after eight residents were tested positive to Covid-19 in recent days. Professor Gauci said that the residents are in isolation and in good health. All measures are being taken to ensure that there is no transmission from person to another.
The Armed Forces of Malta and the Police are securing the area to make sure no one escapes. However, local reports say that a suspected migrant who was tested positive, managed to escape from the police custody when being taken for treatment to Sir Paul Boffa hospital.
The new cases registered in the last 24 hours include a woman, 67, from Gozo who is being kept in isolation at Gozo General Hospital. Another Gozitan, 38, developed symptoms associated with Covid-19 and he is being treated at home. Three patients; a Maltese woman, 55, a Libyan, 34 and an Egyptian, 32 are receiving treatment at Mount Carmel psychiatric hospital after developing symptoms related to Covid-19. Two men, 37 and 55 respectively, were admitted to hospital on an unrelated medical issue and both tested positive. A 61-year-old man was tested positive. He was suffering from a chronic cough and subsequently worsened. The health authorities are tracing staff and patients at Mater Dei Hospital and at Mount Carmel hospital after a health careworker was tested positive. The other cases involve two elderly men, 60 and 76, a 32 year old Maltese woman and a Bulgarian woman, 44, who resides in Malta.
photo by Roderick Agius
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci reiterated her appeal to the public to stay home. She said that now Malta is in the local transmission phase, it is important to avoid going out unnecessarily. She said that eventually, Malta will reach the peak but it is hard for health authorities to predict when it will happen.

Meanwhile, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the government will continue to announce further measures to assist businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic. He was being interviewed on the Labour Party’s radio station.

Abela said that at this stage Malta has managed to contain the widespread of coronavirus without having to order a lockdown. This has helped to find a balance between the priority to safeguard the public’s health and the state of the economy.

Robert Abela reiterated the importance that everyone follows the measures and directives announced by the local health authorities.

The Prime Minister also said that he is convinced that Malta and Gozo will come out of the coronavirus pandemic in the near future.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)