LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta continued to register further increase in new coronavirus cases. The local health authorities confirmed 166 new cases on Thursday, 33 cases less than the previous day.
With 2,487 active cases, Maltàs COVID-19 rate is the fifth highest in the European Union. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), only Cyprus, Portugal and Spain and the Netherlands have a higher case rate per 100,000 people.
No deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. Malta is the only country in the EU to have a death rate of zero for these last three weeks. The local health authorities are attributing this situation to the high vaccination rate. A total of 17 coronavirus positive patients are currently being treated at Mater Dei Hospital, one of whom is in the Intensive Care Unit.
Active Ageing Minister Michael Farrugia has been released from hospital after tests confirmed that there were no undue complications from his Covid-19 infection. Farrugia was tested positive last Sunday.
Meanwhile, a group of 128 French students, who are positive for Covid-19, returned home earlier this afternoon with a special flight operated by ASL Airlines France which specialises in medical flights. Almost 200 students had already been repatriated on two flights on Monday and Tuesday to Italy, Germany and Spain. All of these turned out to be negative for the virus although some were in quarantine. It is understood that more than 500 students who were studying English in Malta tested positive for coronavirus. Malta has had 33,198 cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic which has claimed 420 lives so far.
(ITALPRESS).
