Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said that two Coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 151.

This does not mean that we should be complacent, she said when addressing the media. The situation is still volatile and we are still at the start of the curve upwards, Gauci said.

She said that the person who yesterday was reported to be in criticial condition has not improved, and is still intubated. The 72-year-old man is at the ITU together with three other patients, two of whom were transferred to intensive care in the last 24 hours.

The first Coronavirus patient who had been in intensive care - a 61-year-old man - has now been moved to the Infectious Diseases Unit. It is also possible that another patient is transferred to the ITU in the coming hours; tests are being carried out in this respect.

Gauci explained that people should still avoid contact as much as possible. "I know it's a beautiful day," she said, but it's better to practise social distancing as this is the best way to avoid contagion. Vulnerable people should stay at home as much as possible.

Gauci said that the two cases reported today - from a total of 585 swabs in the last 24 hours - were of a woman aged 53 and a man aged 39.

The woman developed symptoms on 24 March. She had not been abroad but a relative of hers returned from England on 20 March, and who also developed symptoms in 23 March. Gauci said that another relative, who is considered to be vulnerable because of a medical condition, moved to another residence upon the return of the traveller, which Gauci said had been a very good idea as this avoided exposure to the virus.

The man developed symptoms on 15 March and had been in contact with a work colleague who had been abroad.

Addressing the media and the public, Gauci appealed that, "knowing that there is local transmission, we should be very careful and do our utmost to stay at home as much as possible. Go out only if absolutely necessary."

She said that the health authorities are doing their best by increasing swabbing and contact tracing in order to identify positive cases. However, social responsibility of individuals is absolutely vital in such circumstances, as the action of staying at home and avoiding crowds will not only benefit one person but the whole of society.

Gauci said that a number of inspections would be carried out on Sunday in places where people were expected to gather.

With regard to people who have done the test, tested negative but still have a number of symptoms, Gauci said that "they should still stay at home and avoid making contact with other people because despite not having the coronavirus they still might have another infectious virus."

Answering questions from the media, Gauci said that "repeat testing on patients is usually done on more serious cases who have more serious symptoms. Therefore if a patient experiences serious symptoms but tests negative, they will repeat the test once again."

"On people who have mild symptoms but test negative, we will carry out a repeat test if the symptoms have worsened," Gauci said.

"We are also carrying out pilot testing which entails that, with every run, we are carrying out a number of voluntarily swabs on people who have no symptoms in order to identify cases which might be asymptomatic," Gauci said.

Asked whether there are any other patients who recovered from the coronavirus, Gauci said "that up till now no one has tested negative." She added that "this is very much dependent on the individual's health and ability to fight off the virus."

"However, once we do eventually encounter patients who will test negative, these patients will be asked to stay at home for 15 days in order to ensure that the virus can't be transferred to other people," she said.

With regards to people such as health care works who might also have medical conditions Gauci said that they "are asked to discuss such matters with their employer on what can be done in order to ensure their safety. However the final decision of whether the person wants to continue working or not, ultimately will depend on the individual's discretion."