The government is expected to announce new measures to combat the spread of Coronavirus, sources told The Malta Independent.

The number of cases in Malta has spiralled in the last few days, with the number of active cases topping 1,000, double what they were just two weeks ago.

A record numbr of cases - 112 - was recorded on Thursday, taking the number of cases in Malta to 4,160.

The Prime Minister has already announced that there will be more police officers deployed in the streets to see that safety measures that have already been put in place are followed. This includes the wearing of masks in shops.

But more measures are expected to be announced today, Friday, normally the day when health chief Charmaine Gauci gives her weekly update.

Constituted bodies, in particular those representing doctors and teachers, have called upon the government to tackle the pandemic in a more efficient way.