The three patients recovering from Coronavirus in Mater Dei Hospital are in a stable condition, health officials said on Monday.
Virologist Christopher Barbara also said that no new cases of the virus have been recorded in Malta so far, noting that two tests carried out this morning on suspect cases returned negative results.
Malta registered its first three Coronavirus patients on Saturday; these being a 12-year-old girl and her parents after they recently returned from a trip to Italy.
Their conduct upon their return to Malta has been described as “exemplary” by the Superintendent for Public Health Charmaine Gauci, and health officials again praised the family for their responsibility, saying that the fact that they had followed all guidelines themselves meant that they did not spread the virus to anymore people.
Barbara said that all those who had been in contact with the family had also tested negative for the virus.
Officials explained that they have received over 13,000 telephone calls on the new 111 helpline since it was opened.
A nurse demonstrated the personal protective equipment (PPE) that are being used within Mater Dei. The equipment is made up of a fluid resistant gown, gloves, a face mask, a cap, and a visor.
Officials said that the most important areas to protect are the eyes, nose, and mouth, noting that the virus spreads through respiratory ejections such as sneezes.
They noted that these are the recommendations put in place by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC). The nurse present at the press conference also demonstrated the procedure that was being taken to remove the equipment so not to contract the virus from on it, and also demonstrated the proper hand washing technique.
They said that there is no one size fits all solution for equipment, and explained that Malta had looked to countries which had not seen their healthcare workers be infected. The cardinal example of this is Hong Kong, where, despite a big number of cases, there have been no health workers diagnosed with the virus. The PPE being used in Malta is identical to that in Hong Kong, they said before noting that an aircraft with new supplies would be flying into Malta today.
This comes directly after the president of the Malta Union for Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) Pau Pace called for 360-degree coveralls for its members, and noting that nurses were still lacking in training.
The MUMN issued directives to their members on Monday, instructing them – amongst other things – not to treat Coronavirus patients before these coveralls are provided.
Addressing these concerns however, Professor Michael Borg – the head of the Infectious Diseases Unit – said that such coveralls were burdensome and unrequired to deal with the epidemic, namely due to the manner in which it is transmitted.