[WATCH] Coronavirus: 17 new cases, no Covid-19 deaths to date, non-essential shops to close

New coronavirus cases registered overnight number 17, but no deaths have been registered to date • Non-essential shops to close, non-essential services to stop from Monday morning, public gatherings are banned

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci will be providing updates on the coronavirus situation at 2pm
Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci will be providing updates on the coronavirus situation at 2pm

Main points emerging from today's press conference:

  • 17 new coronavirus cases, total now numbers 90
  • No Covid-19 deaths to date, contrary to rumours
  • 60 patients recovering at home. 2 others have recovered completely and are no longer positive for Covid-19
  • All non-essential shops to close by Monday 8am. The same applies to all non-essential services. Supermarkets, grocers, pet shops, banks and post offices are amongst those not affected by the new measures - they will remain operating normally. A full list of which shops and services are impacted by the new rules will be published in tomorrow's Government Gazette
  • All organised public meetings and gatherings are to be stopped as from Monday 8am
  • Fines of €3,000 for each breach instance will be imposed for those not abiding by the new measures

14:45 The press conference has now ended. Massimo Costa
14:45 Fearne asks people to remain vigilant and to follow all government and public health updates. He agains cautions against believing baseless rumours. Massimo Costa
14:39 Fearne now deals with the issue of travel. He says that most people who brought the virus into Malta were Maltese people returning from abroad. Even if travel had been banned from the outset, such Maltese residents would still have had to be repatriated, he says. Massimo Costa
14:37 Chris Fearne says that on Thursday the health department's procurement wing issued a call for all hotels or hostels which want to offer accommodation to health care workers. "We've had a good response," Fearne says, "Ideally, they should be located as close as possible to our hospitals." Massimo Costa
14:36 Charmaine Gauci says the number of confirmed cases is expected to continue to rise due to the number of tests being carried out. What worries her, she says, is the cases which are not found - because those cases which are found allow contact tracing, isolation and quarantine to take place. Massimo Costa
14:33 The construction sector will continue operating normally, Fearne says in reply to a question from the press. "We are not stopping work in the country. We are stopping retail and retail-related non-essential services." Massimo Costa
14:28 Fearne specifies that, in terms of prohibited gatherings, it is organised gatherings which are being banned. And the €3,000 fine will apply to those organising such events, not those attending. Massimo Costa
14:27 Newskiosks will be amongst those shops which will remain open. Massimo Costa
14:26 A comprehensive list of all outlets which will close will be published tomorrow in the Government Gazette. Massimo Costa
14:26 Chris Fearne is now answering press questions. He says that home deliveries will continue. Work places will remain open. He emphasises that shopping malls and shops providing non-essential services will be closed to prevent further contagion. Massimo Costa
14:19 Ten of the 17 new cases are related to travelling abroad. Massimo Costa
14:19 Contact tracing of all new cases is taking place, Gauci says. This is leading to the discovery of the new cases. Massimo Costa
14:19 Charmaine Gauci is now speaking. She confirms there have been 17 new Covid-19 cases overnight. Massimo Costa
14:16 All households will be receiving an official leaflet from the public health authorities with safety measures to follow. Massimo Costa
14:16 "Everybody must cooperate," Fearne is stressing. "We cannot get out of this situation if it is only the health department, public entities and ministries which abide by the measures." Massimo Costa
14:15 Anyone breaching the new non-essential services closure and gatherings rules will also be liable to a €3,000 fine. Massimo Costa
14:14 All public gatherings and public meetings will be prohibited from tomorrow morning, too. Massimo Costa
14:14 Fearne adds that pet shops will also continue operating normally and will not be closed. Massimo Costa
14:14 All non-essential services will have to stop by 8am on Monday. Massimo Costa
14:14 The following won't be affected: post offices, medical services, banks and transport-related services. These services will operate normally. Massimo Costa
14:13 The second set of measures: non-essential services will be stopped. These include: hairdressers, beauticians and tattoo parlours. This is being done to reduce contact amongst persons receiving such services. Massimo Costa
14:13 Anyone breaching the new closure measures is liable to a €3,000 fine for each breach. Massimo Costa
14:12 The new measures will come into effect at 8am on Monday. Massimo Costa
14:12 The following kind of shops won't be affected: supermarkets, green grocers, bakeries, confectionaries, fish mongers and so on. A complete list will be published tomorrow in the Government Gazette. Massimo Costa
14:11 The first set of new measures: All non-essential retail outlets will be closed. These include clothes shops, toy shops, electronics shops and household good stores. Massimo Costa
14:11 The virus can only be contracted through contact with an infected person or through touching an infected surface, Fearne says. Massimo Costa
14:09 “We’ve now had limited spread in the community,” Fearne says. The new measures he will be announcing are appropriate for the stage the country is in. Massimo Costa
14:06 Around 60 of the total number of patients are recovering at home. Massimo Costa
14:05 The number of patients who have recovered remains at two. Massimo Costa
14:05 Fearne asks the media to only report official information. "We were always committed transparency and will be communicating to you all developments. There have till now been no Covid-19 death in our country." Massimo Costa
14:05 No patients have died due to Covid-19, despite the persistent rumours, Fearne says. One patient remains in the ITU. Massimo Costa
14:04 17 new coronavirus cases have been registered in the past 24 hours, Fearne says, bringing the total to 90. Massimo Costa
14:04 The press conference has started. Deputy PM Chris Fearne says he will start be announcing new measures. Charmaine Gauci will then proceed to give her daily briefing of the new cases registered in the past 24 hours and the status of patients. Massimo Costa
14:00 Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci will be briefing the media in connection with the coronavirus situation. The briefing is expected to start shortly. Massimo Costa

The number of new coronavirus cases registered overnight number 17, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said on Sunday, bringing the total to 90. 

Fearne, who was addressing a press conference along with Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci, said that - contrary to some rumours doing the rounds - no deaths due to Covid-19 have been registered to date in Malta.

"We were always committed to transparency and will be communicating to you all developments. There have till now been no Covid-19 death in our country, he said.

He said that, of the 90 cases, 60 patients were recovering at home, and two had fully recovered and were no longer positive for Covid-19.

Fearne said that, from Monday morning, all non-essential retail outlets will be closed and non-essential services will be stopped. All public meetings and gatherings will also be prohibited.

Amongst the retail outlets affected by this ban are clothes shops, toy shops and household good shops.

In terms of the non-essential services which will have to stop, these include hairdressers, beauticians and tattoo studios.

Supermarkets, green grocers, bakeries, confectionaries, fish mongers, and pet shops, amongst others, will not have to close and will continue operating normally.

Services such as post offices, medical services, banks and transport-related services will also be unaffected by the new measures.

A complete list of all those shops and services which will be impacted by the temporary closure will be published in tomorrow's Government Gazette.

A fine of €3,000 per instance of breach will be issued to those not adhering by the measures.

In terms of public gatherings, organised gatherings will be banned, and the organisers, not the attendees, will be liable to a €3,000 fine.

Fearne confirmed that the construction industry will be continue operating normally. He emphasised that the country must keep functioning.

The new cases

Ten cases are related to travelling

  • An 18-year old Maltese woman and a 73-year-old Maltese man who had travelled to the UK
  • A 50-year-old Swedish man living in Malta and a 22-year-old Maltese man who had travelled to Italy
  • A Hungarian boy living in Malta whose father had visited Hungary. The child likely contracted the virus from his father
  • A 24-year-old Finnish man who visited Vienna, Austria
  • A 51-year-old Maltese man who visited Morocco
  • A woman, aged 26, who had contact with an infected person who had visited Belgium
  • A 46-year-old Maltese woman who had contact with a Covid-19-positive person who had visited Germany
  • A Maltese woman, aged 55, who did not travel but whose partner had frequent contact with tourists through his job

Seven other cases have no link to foreign travels and are suspected to be instances of local transmission

  • A 27-year-old Maltese health care worker employed at Mater Dei Hospital
  • A 42-year-old Indian national who works in Malta
  • A Maltese woman, aged 33
  • A 53-year-old Maltese woman
  • Another Maltese woman, aged 60
  • A 74-year-old Maltese man
  • A 28-year-old man from Somalia who has lived in Malta for over five years. The man has been hospitalised