COVID-19: Authorities slam untrue St Joseph School prom and Qormi Skola Sajf rumours

Reports that a positive case of COVID-19 attended the St Joseph School Blata l-Bajda prom are not true, a health ministry spokesperson has confirmed.

In a Whatsapp group which claims to give exclusive updates on coronavirus cases, it was reported that on the 24 July an individual positive to the virus had attended the prom at Fort St Angelo. The admin of the WhatsApp group also urged attendees to self-isolate and get tested.

He also said the positive case had attended the Santa Venera feast, and so formed part of that cluster.

However, a health ministry spokesperson told MaltaToday that a risk assessment showed that the individual wasn’t infectious on the day of the prom, and so posed no danger to others.

“There is no need for students who attended the prom to go for testing. Such misinformation only leads to unnecessary panic,” the health ministry spokesperson said.

Qormi Skola Sajf

The same Whatsapp group also reported that there was a case of COVID-19 linked to the Qormi St George Skola Sajf. This was also picked up by the Union of Professional Educators in a subsequent statement.

However, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry denied there was any case of coronavirus linked to the school.

"Parents are being panicked for no reason wahtsoever. The ministry appeals for responsibility when reporting on such sensitive matters," the spokesperson told MaltaToday.

On Friday, 10 new cases of COVID-19 were registered overnight, including six connected to the Santa Venera feast.

Almost all of today’s positive cases did not go to work while symptomatic, the health authorities said.

Active cases currently stand at 150, including 85 migrants disembarked in Malta this week.

READ ALSO: Malta has 150 active COVID-19 cases as 10 more people test positive