COVID-19 alert: Authorities ask people who attended Santa Venera feast to get tested

Updated at 4:00 pm with Public Health Superintendence statement

The authorities have issued a public health alert asking people who attended the Santa Venera feast to get tested for COVID-19.

The alert was issued after a person who tested positive for coronavirus over the past few days informed authorities that he visited the Santa Venera band club on Wednesday 22 July, and the band march on Thursday 23 July.

The authorities are asking people who attended these events to call 111 to get tested and monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Health Ministry confirmed one case at the government summer school in Luqa.

The Public Health Superintendence said that the positive case is an LSE. The infected individual had no symptoms.

The superintendence said the LSE came in contact with three classrooms.

Parents of children who came in contact with the infected individual, are being told to swab their children and remain quarantined until results are received.  

The development comes after a spike in cases related to a weekend party held at the Radisson Hotel last week.

Another case of COVID-19 was detected overnight, bringing the total number of active cases to 27. Up until last week, the number of active cases has dropped to single digit figures.

The Santa Venera festa alert comes 24 hours after Prime Minister Robert Abela said people "sowing doubt and fear" over the number of COVID-19 cases were motivated by a desire to harm the government.

Abela told Labour Party delegates that the economy will remain open and government will not succumb to fear over COVID-19.

On Sunday, Malta registered 14 new cases of coronavirus, the highest daily number since the end of May. Nine of the cases were linked to a weekend party held at the Radisson.