[WATCH] One new coronavirus case registered overnight

Only one new patient tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said on Sunday. 

Gauci also said that a further 19 patients have recovered from the coronavirus, with 14 being men and the remaining five women.

The new case is that of a 29-year-old Serbian woman who works in Malta. 

She insisted that people should continue to abide by social distancing measures despite the relatively low number of cases being registered, insisting such measures have helped to keep the situation under control. 

The total number of positive cases has now reached 472, with 306 who still active. 

Gauci said that 787 swabs were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of swabs to 2,052. 

Two people remain at the ITU, with one patient making use of a ventilator, and the other under supervision. 

Fielding questions from journalists on the relatively low number of tests being carried out, Gauci said that lately people have not been turning up to appointments, stating that people should still get tested, even if symptoms disappear. 

On the lifting of restrictions, Gauci said that measures will start to be removed under very strict supervision, insisting that the process should not back track the already made progress, insisting that a second wave of infections could still overwhelm health systems. 

As part of the prerequisites in lifting restrictions, Gauci said that an increase in testing must be in place. 

On the situation at the Hal Far open centre, Gauci said that routine testing is underway, with contract tracing efforts being carried out on infected patients. 

20 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours.