19 out of the 33 migrants disembarked in Malta on Wednesday have tested positive for Covid-19, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. 

“All 33 migrants admitted to Malta yesterday were isolated and swabbed for Covid-19. 19 of these 33 migrants have tested positive”, the Ministry said in a statement. 

“As per usual procedure, migrants arriving by boat are immediately quarantined and tested. The migrants who are positive will continue to be isolated at the Ħal Far Initial Reception Centre, and the rest will remain in quarantine and followed up”, the statement added.

This the second time that a group of rescued migrants have tested positive for the virus.  Earlier this week, 66 out of a group of 94 migrants rescued by the Armed Forces of Malta tested positive for Covid-19.

Like this group, the 66 were immediately isolated upon arrival and swabbed, meaning that there is no possibility of them having transmitted the virus to anyone outside their group.

While the total number of active cases of the virus who had been in the community remains 46, the number of active cases in the country as a whole now rises to 131.