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The Maltese government declared a public health emergency as the health authorities confirmed a sustained local transmission of COVID 19. The Supretendent of Public Health, Professor Chairmaine Gauci announced eleven new cases of coronavirus while she remarked that the cases are slowly increasing.
According to the local health authorities all new patients contracted the virus locally and are in good health. Among those who tested positive there is another migrant who resides at Ħal Far Open Centre and a two-year-old girl.
The first case of coronavirus has been registered on 7 March and subsequently the number went up to 213 confirmed cases. So far, only two individuals have fully recovered.
The Superintendent of Public Health is empowered to take the necessary measures considered necessary in order to reduce, remove or eliminate the threat of coronavirus, segregate or isolate any person in any area, evacuate any persons from any area, prevent access to any area, control the movement of any vehicle, order that any person undergo a medical examination, order that any substance or object be seized, destroyed or disposed, and order such other action considered appropriate. Any person who does not comply with any direction by the Superintendent shall be guilty of an offence against the Public Health Act.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Malta has registered 7 new cases of coronavirus bringing the total to 202 positive cases. This was confirmed by the Supretendent of Public Health, Professor Chairmaine Gauci while addressing the media via skype.

An Italian woman expecting to give birth is one of the new registered cases which was transmitted locally. Gauci confirmed that the pregnant woman, 36, was confirmed positive during her routine medical tests. The local health authorities confirmed that both the mother and the unborn child are in good health condition, and they will be monitored for further medical investigations.

Prof. Gauci said that it can be noticed that Malta is still having travel-related cases. 4 of the new cases were related to travelling abroad. The other 2 new cases were locally transmitted. These cases concern a female worker employed at Lidl supermarket in Safi who was working on the same shift with a collegue who recently was confirmed positive and the another case involves a Nigerian man who lives at the migrant open centre in Ħal Far.

Meanwhile, more restrications came into effect from today for travelling from Malta to Gozo. Only Gozo residents working in Malta are allowed to travel.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Superintendent of Public Health in Malta Professor Charmaine Gauci confirmed eight new coronavirus cases. Addressing a press conference, she said that there is a shift towards locally transmitted cases and remarked that the symptoms are no longer simply associated with respiratory problems but they have seen patients developing symptoms related gastrointestinal issues. Till now, the total number of coronavirus cases in Malta went up to 195. Professor Charmaine Gauci noted that unfortunately many people are still going to work even if they have very mild symptoms. She highlighted the need to stay at home and wait until the tests are out. Meanwhile the Superintendent of Public Health was insulted outside the building of the national television station after she gave an interview on Wednesday evening. A woman, who apparently is involved in driving instructions, waited for Professor Gauci outside the building. She then proceeded to insult Professor Gauci upon exiting the building.
(ITALPRESS/MNA)

While thirteen new coronavirus cases were announced on Tuesday afternoon, during a press briefing by the Superintendent of Public Health, Professor Charmaine Gauci, the Maltese government has annoucned new measure to control social distancing to curb the spreading of the virus. 

The Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said that the government will impose a €100 fine for each of the persons forming a group of four or more in public . This does not apply to members of the same family who live under one roof. He said that Police patrols will increase, even in the countryside.

Minister Camilleri referred to the authorities frustration that on Sunday many people were outside despite the contrary advice. He warned that the €100 fine may be increased if the public continues to ignore the authorities directives, arguing that it is not right that persons endanger other people’s health, including that of the majority who observe the directives.

Malta now has 169 confirmed cases of COVID 19. One of the patients who is in the Intensive Care Unit breathing with the help of a ventilator, is vulnerable due to his age.

Out of the thirteen cases, eight were patients who contracted the virus locally. The other five are patients who arrived in Malta from Marocco and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the transport authorities refused a spanish aircraft to land in Malta. This was confirmed by Transport Minister Ian Borg on social media, who said that the permit was not granted. Local reports said that the aircraft had requested a landing in Luqa due to repairs, but this was not true, and therefore the Maltese authorities did not allow it. Eventually the aircraft continued on its way to Madrid.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

The health authorities in Malta declared that the worst is yet to come, as more positive cases of coronavirus are expected in the coming weeks as the peak was not reached yet.

The Supretendent of Public Health Prof. Chairmaine Gauci confirmed another five new cases, reaching a total of 156. 

Three of the new cases are related to travelling.  A Maltese man, 30, have travelled to Mexico and few days after his return to Malta he started feeling the first symptoms. A woman, 64 who had travelled to the United Kingdom was also confirmed positive, and a heathworker, 30, who was also in United Kingdom was found positive after undergoing the required medical tests.

Meanwhile, the other new cases were transmitted locally. A Maltese woman, 35 was confirmed positive after two relatives were suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. Another Maltese woman, 44, was confirmed positive. The healthauthorities are carrying out more investigations as the womanhasreportedto work.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela appealed to the Maltese population to follow the directives issued by the public health authorities so that by summer, the situation could return to normal. Answering questions during a radio interview, Abela declared that the coming three weeks were crucial and appealed the general public for cooperation.

So far, 151 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Malta, roughly half of the cases were travel related and the other half were cases of local transmission. Various measures have been implemented to curb the spread including the closure of all educational institutions until June, the closure of establishments providing non-essential services among others.

The two new casesregistered in the last 24 hours,are a 53-year-old Maltese woman who developed symptoms associated with coronavirus. The woman who had no travel history, however, a relative had returned to Malta from the United Kingdom. The family was in quarantine.

The second case concerns a 39 years old Maltese man. The man did not travel however a colleague was abroad and had developed some symptoms. The authorities are currently doing contact tracing.

The Supretendent of Public Health, Prof. Charmain Gauci said, “it is true that only two tested positive for coronavirus after carrying a record number of 585 swab tests. But this is not an indication that we will not have more cases. We need the public cooperation to keep the numbers low.”

Meanwhile, four patients who contracted coronavirus are currently receiving treatment at the Intensive Therapy Unit at Mater Dei Hospital. One of the patients, a 72 year old man remains breathing with the help of a ventilator and he is in a critical condition.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

The World Health Organisation has chosen Malta as a model for other countries on how to combat coronavirus. This was declared by the Maltese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne in a press conference this morning, as he announced ten more positive cases for coronavirus. So far, Malta registered a total of 149 cases.
Out of all the COVID-19 cases, 3 patients have been admitted to the Intensive Therapy Unit. One of the new coronavirus cases is a 72-year old Maltese man who is in critical condition. He was in contact with a relative who tested positive to the virus. 3 people from the Philippines were tested positive; linked to a person who returned to Malta from the Philippines who had also been tested positive. A Maltese man who lives abroad and has recently returned to Malta through a flight from France, is positive to coronavirus. A British man who lives in Malta was also tested positive. A Maltese healthcare worker, a maltese man and two Indians residing in Malta were all tested positive after they were infected locally. Meanwhile, the Minister of Education Owen Bonnici announced that all schools and educational institutions will be closed until the end of June, therefore, a new scholastic year might open in September. Earlier this month, the government had announced that schools were to remain closed until the 17th April 2020 and now has been extended. All school examinations have been cancelled. Minister Owen Bonnici appealed to all students and parents to continue their studies even though they are not physically attending schools. He also said that such measures will also help alleviate some of the pressure experienced by students during the exam period.

On 7 April, on the occasion of World Health Day, “Start the Future” will be held a free international online event of its kind. It is promoted by the Web Marketing Festival, with the partnership of the Maltese Italian Chamber of Commerce and other international partners and will see the participation of startups, speakers, investors and people from all over the world. An invitation has been launched to present innovative projects, testimonials, products and services to address current emergencies and 4 global challenges: education, health, climate change and digital transformation. “The Italian Chamber of Commerce of Malta has decided to join and support Start the Future, the global event that will be held online on April 7 and organized by the Web Marketing Festival – said President Victor Camilleri -. It’s time for ideas to help support the entire community. In Malta there are many startups, innovative and consulting companies that can make a significant contribution to the company to overcome this global emergency”. The Covid-19 emergency is seriously affecting the balance of many countries in Europe and around the world and their respective economic, health and education systems.

“For this reason, during the event, which is free of charge and entirely online – said Camilleri – innovative projects, testimonials, products and services that can be used to deal with the great global changes of our time and to deal with the difficulties caused by Covid-19 will be presented. This event is a great opportunity for innovative Maltese and Italian startups to emerge in the international framework and support the new global challenges that many industries are facing.” The Start the Future call, which runs on the Web Marketing Festival’s website until 2 April, allows start-ups, scale ups, ONPs, research centres, companies and agencies, as well as individuals, investors, journalists, policy makers, researchers and innovators, to send and propose projects, ideas and testimonials that can then be presented during the online event.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).