[WATCH] 32 new coronavirus cases, 65 recoveries, as Charmaine Gauci reports gradual decline in weekly average

Malta's weekly average of COVID-19 cases has started to decline gradually, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said, as 32 new cases and 65 recoveries were recorded overnight.

In her weekly media briefing this afternoon, Gauci said three patients were still recovering at Mater Dei Hospital's intensive therapy unit (ITU). A cluster of cases at Mount Carmel Hospital has resulted in 22 patients there contracting the coronavirus.

Speaking on the patients at the ITU Gauci said they were on ventilators. One of the patients was in critical condition and the other two were stable.

Gauci said the average of patients with COVID-19 has increased and now stands at 40. She said the virus lasted on the body for an average of 15 days.

From the positive cases recorded this week, Gauci said 26 were family clusters, 26 were work-related clusters, 19 were linked to gatherings, seven each linked to Paceville and nursing homes, five from the Mount Carmel Hospital cluster and three were sports-related.

Gauci said the number of swab tests remained high with 2,109 being conducted overnight.

She appealed for continuous vigilance, respect for social distance, wearing of masks and proper hand hygiene. Gauci said vulnerable people and the eldery should try to avoid crowded places. She urged people to wear masks whenever meeting people and where social distancing is problematic.

Gauci also appealed for people to take the seasonal influenza vaccine when this comes available in October.

Since the start of the pandemic Malta had 1,820 cases, including 10 deaths. The number of active cases now stands at 624.

99 random airport tests

Gauci said that since the creation of the amber list for incoming travellers, 99 tests have been conducted and three people tested positive for the virus.

She highlighted that the fact that positive cases were caught, proves that the system is effective.

Gauci said that when deciding to put countries on the amber list the health authorities took into consideration the positivity rate. “If you see Spain, the country’s positivity rate is 7, which corresponds with their high cases rate which is why certain parts of Spain are on the amber list,” she explained.

She said Malta’s positivity rate was 1.78, placing it 12th in Europe.

Migrants

Shedding light on the migrant situation, Gauci said that on the last boat two positive cases were found. She said that all those who disembarked are in quarantine.

Rescued migrants are kept in isolation and quarantine from the moment they step foot in Malta.

On Friday doctors and healthcare workers called for further measures to fight the coronavirus.

The Medical Association of Malta (MAM) and the Association of Public Health Medicine (APHA) said they were seriously concerned about the current situation and had written confidentially to the superintendent requesting more measures to bring numbers down.

The group said that at 46 cases per day, Malta now has the second-highest rate of new cases on a 14-day average in the EU.

READ MORE: Doctors demand further COVID-19 measures, as Malta retains steady infection rate