47 out of the 64 people who passed away while they were positive for COVID-19 actually died as a result of the virus itself while the rest had underlying issues or are still being evaluated, Health Minister Chris Fearne told Parliament on Tuesday.
He was answering to a series of parliamentary questions put forward by MP Godfrey Farrugia concerning the pandemic, including ones about COVID-19 deaths (64 in total) and the use of ventilators.
Farrugia asked the Minister to give an exact indication of how many of the deaths caused by COVID-19 in Malta actually have the virus listed as the underlying cause of death, while also asking for the number of autopsies that were carried out on people on this list.
The Health Minister noted that no autopsies were performed for any of these deaths since the cause of death was already known. Out of the 64 total deaths of COVID-19-positive people, 47 specifically died from the virus and have it listed as their cause of death. For 15 of the remaining deaths, COVID-19 was considered as a contributor to pre-existing complications while the most recent 2 deaths are still being assessed.
Farrugia also asked the Minister about how many people who tested positive for COVID-19 were placed on a ventilator, and to give an indication of the number of patients that managed to heal as well as those who died.
Fearne explained that, since the start of the pandemic there were 33 COVID-19 positive patients who had to make use of a ventilator. From this total, 11 died, 8 were released to another ward while 14 are still on a ventilator.
These questions come at a time when Malta is experiencing its highest number of positive cases yet with the Opposition and some health professionals fearing the collapse of the healthcare system as the ITU in Mater Dei Hospital reaches its capacity. During his parliamentary speech on Monday Fearne said that 3 additional ITU wards were set up at the hospital and while one is already being used, the remaining 2 are still in reserve.