16 days: the average recovery time for COVID-19 patients in Malta

The average convalescence period for patients with COVID-19 in Malta, from the time they tested positive till recovery, was of 16 days, Chris Fearne said.

A patient is considered to have recovered after two consecutive tests for the virus, taken 24 hours apart, come back negative.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister said in Parliament that 25% of patients with a positive swab test experienced no symptoms.

If residents of the Ħal Far tent village are not factored in, the percentage of patients without symptoms is 13%.

Fearne, who was answering a parliamentary question from independent MP Godfrey Farrugia, said that 19% of patients who contracted the coronavirus were kept at Mater Dei Hospital's Infectious Disease Unit for treatment for more than a day.

Eleven patients required treatment in the Intensive Therapy Unit, four of whom were needed to be put on a ventilator.

Of the six persons who died due to the coronavirus, COVID-19 was the principle cause of death for five of them, the National Mortality Registry indicates, Fearne said.

For the remaining patient, COVID-19 was a contributory factor behind their demise, with the main cause of death having been related to an intestinal condition.

Fifty five percent of patients who tested positive for the virus had received the influenza vaccine last year.

Fearne added that the Health Department had used the COVID-19 criteria and case definitions issued by the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) when it came to determining who should be administered a swab test.