Two more people have died of Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths up to 92, health superintendent Charmaine Gauci said on Friday.
She was delivering her weekly Coronavirus briefing.
One of the patients who died was a 95-year-old man who was admitted to Mater Dei Hospital and tested positive the following day.
The other was a 79-year-old man who tested positive on 29 October an died early this morning.
There are 208 people in hospitals, including 13 in ITU and 10 at the Infectious Diseases Unit (IDU). There are 42 patients at Boffa, 24 at St Thomas Hospital, 69 at the Good Samaritan, 3 at Mount Carmel and 11 at the Gozo General Hospital. The only patient at Karin Grech Hospital has recovered.
Gauci said the number of cases is rising but the rate of increase is lower than it was at the beginning of the pandemic. Most new cases are among family members, Gauci said, adding that precautions should be taken at home and at the workplace.
The authorities have found 150 new Coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, and 101 people have recovered. There are now 2,124 active cases.
The health superintendent renewed her call for the public to wear masks and practice personal hygiene. She also urged people to do more to protect the elderly and the vulnerable.
People wearing masks should not feel fully protected and still need to keep a distance from other people, she said. People should not find excuses to take their masks off.
Referring to the cases found over the last week, Gauci said many people who are positive were middle-aged, but there were several cases among men aged 85 to 94. The average age of people who tested positive was 45.4 years.
When it comes to mortality, the death rate is higher among men aged 57 to 84.
Gauci also announced that the travel amber list will be updated. As from midnight on Friday, it will include Germany, Luxembourg, Italy (new airports) and Spain and France (all airports).
The Malta Independent asked Gauci for an update on the situation in schools following reports from the Commissioner for Children that attendance has decreased drastically since the reopening of schools in September.
The Superintendent said that this is the season where there is a lot of virus going around like the common cold or flu which definitely has an effect on absentees, especially considering the fact that parents are being told to not send their children to school if they have any symptoms.
She assured that every school is taking the required protocols seriously and that there have been no reported cases of students testing positive through transmissions in schools. The only positive cases that were reported are staff and contact tracing measures were taken immediately as well as quarantine measures, including students at times. She added that with regards to students who have tested positive, there is no evidence showing that they contracted it from school.
This newsroom also asked about the effectiveness of the vaccine as a main developer, Pfizer, said that it is predicting a 90% effectiveness rate. Gauci said that this number is actually very encouraging from what it was before. She explained that vaccines generally do not have a 100% effectiveness rate, but this is why the authorities are insisting on administering the vaccine in large volumes as then herd immunity comes into play.
The COVID-19 Alert app was also something this newsroom questioned as some older phone versions are not able to download it. When asked, Gauci did not say if there are plans to make it accessible to older versions but this is something the authorities are aware of. “This is the limitation we have here, but this is why we are appealing for everyone who can download it to download it if their phone supports it.”
With the resurgence of cases in certain elderly homes, Gauci was asked to specify which care homes were affected and if she has words of advice for elderly persons who are still going out despite the rise in elderly COVID-19 deaths.
Gauci said that the homes that were impacted are Dar Pinto, Golden Care Malta, Zammit Clapp and San Vincens. She appealed for elderly persons who are still going out to choose where they go and when they leave the house wisely while relatives should help out their elderly in day-to-day errands to limit their outings as much as possible.
With regards to the situation in migrant centres, Gauci said that the situation is under control and cases are decreasing due to the measures implemented.
The Superintendent was also asked for the number of rapid tests that have taken place since they were implemented and where they will be apart from the airport. She said that for the time being, rapid testing is being done in Boffa Hospital and since the beginning, there were 1,504. She added that when a person tests positive with a rapid test they are referred to have a normal swab test for confirmation.
Asked if workplaces can ask to have a routine rapid test check by asking for it from the authorities, Gauci said that since rapid tests are still checked through nasal insertion, they need to be carried out in a safe environment, not at the workplace. However, if there are suspicions employers can contact the authorities to get workers tested.
Gauci added that while Malta is doing well when compared to other EU countries, standing at 21st place among all states, this does not mean that it is enough and efforts to reduce transmission need to be maintained.
The press conference is being live streamed below.
Please refresh for the latest updates.
Coronavirus deaths
1. Wednesday 8 April - Woman, 92, Gozo General Hospital
2. Thursday 9 April - Man, 79, Karin Grech Hospital
3. Saturday 11 April - Man, 84, Mater Dei Hospital
4. Saturday 25 April - Woman, 96, Mater Dei Hospital
5. Tuesday 5 May - Man, 81, Karin Grech Hospital
6. Wednesday 13 May - Man, 53, Mater Dei Hospital
7. Wednesday 27 May - Man, 97, Karin Grech Hospital
8. Friday 29 May - Man, 56, Mater Dei Hospital
9. Friday 29 May - Man, 68, Mater Dei Hospital
10. Friday 21 August - Man, 72, Mater Dei Hospital
11. Saturday 29 August - Woman, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
12. Sunday 30 August - Man, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
13. Tuesday 1 September - Man, 89, Mater Dei Hospital
14. Saturday 5 September - Man, 85, Mater Dei Hospital
15. Thursday 10 September - Man, 80, Mater Dei Hospital
16. Monday 14 September - Woman, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
17. Thursday 17 September - Woman, 91, Mater Dei Hospital
18. Saturday 19 September - Woman, 71, Mater Dei Hospital
19. Saturday 19 September - Woman, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
20. Saturday 19 September - Man, 85, Mater Dei Hospital
21. Sunday 20 September - Man, 86, St Joseph Home
22. Monday, 21 September - Man, 98 Mater Dei Hospital
23. Monday, 21 September - Man, 83, Mater Dei Hospital
24. Tuesday 22 September - Man, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
25. Wednesday 23 September - Man, 84, Mater Dei Hospital
26. Thursday, 24 September - Man, 91, old people's home
27. Thursday, 24 September - Woman, 73, old people's home
28. Thursday, 24 September - Woman, 78, Mater Dei Hospital
29. Friday, 25 September - Man, 90, Mater Dei Hospital
30. Friday, 25 September - Woman, 94, Mater Dei Hospital
31. Saturday, 26 September - Woman, 92, elderly people's home
32. Sunday, 27 September - Woman, 91, Mater Dei Hospital
33. Monday, 28 September - Woman, 82, elderly people's home
34. Monday, 28 September - Woman, 79, elderly people's home
35. Wednesday, 30 September - Man, 85, St Thomas Hospital
36. Thursday, 1 October - Man, 90, Mater Dei Hospital
37. Friday, 2 October - Man, 78, Mater Dei Hospital
38. Friday, 2 October - Woman, 69, Mater Dei Hospital
39. Saturday, 3 October - Man, 70, Mater Dei Hospital
40. Monday 5 October - Woman, 90, Mater Dei Hospital
41. Wednesday 7 October - Woman, 96, Mater Dei Hospital
42. Sunday 11 October - Man, 67, Mater Dei Hospital
43. Monday 12 October - Man, 67, Mater Dei Hospital
44. Tuesday 13 October - Man, 71, Mater Dei Hospital
45. Wednesday 14 October - Man, 59, Mater Dei Hospital
46. Tuesday 20 October - Woman, 72, Mater Dei Hospital
47. Wednesday 21 October - Man, 68 Mater Dei Hospital
48. Thursday 22 October - Women, 72, Mater Dei Hospital
49. Thursday 22 October - Man, 82, Mater Dei Hospital
50. Saturday 24 October - Man, 77, Elderly home
51. Sunday 25 October - Man, 82, Mater Dei Hospital
52. Sunday 25 October - Man, 75, Mater Dei Hospital
53. Monday 26 October - Man, 73, Mater Dei Hospital
54. Monday 26 October - Man, 70, Mater Dei Hospital
55. Tuesday 27 October - Woman, 88, Mater Dei Hospital
56. Wednesday 28 October - Woman, 89, Mater Dei Hospital
57. Wednesday 28 October - Man, 91, Mater Dei Hospital
58. Wednesday, 28 October - Man, 88, Mater Dei Hospital
59. Wednesday, 28 October - Man, 66, Mater Dei Hospital
60. Thursday 29 October - Man, 76, Mater Dei Hospital
61. Friday, 30 October - Man, 68, Mater Dei Hospital
62. Saturday, 31 October - Woman, 80, Mater Dei Hospital
63. Sunday, 1 November - Woman, 91, Mater Dei Hospital
64. Sunday, 1 November - Man, 80, Mater Dei Hospital
65. Monday, 2 November - Man, 80, Mater Dei Hospital
66. Wednesday, 4 November - Man, 86, Mater Dei Hospital
67. Wednesday, 4 November - Man, 87, Mater Dei Hospital
68. Wednesday, 4 November - Man, 63, Mater Dei Hospital
69. Wednesday, 4 November - Man, 83, Mount Carmel Hospital
70. Thursday, 5 November – Man, 75, Mater Dei Hospital
71. Thursday, 5 November – Man, 54, Mater Dei Hospital
72. Thursday, 5 November – Man, 75, Mater Dei hospital
73. Thursday, 5 November – Woman, 90, Mater Dei Hospital
74. Saturday 7 November – Man, 92, Mater Dei Hospital
75. Saturday, 7 November - Man, 92, Mater Dei Hospital
76. Sunday, 8 November – Woman, 91, Good Samaritan Hospital
77. Sunday, 8 November – Man, 79, Mater Dei Hospital
78. Sunday 8 November – Man, 71, Mater Dei Hospital
79. Sunday, 8 November – Man, 79, Mater Dei Hospital
80. Monday 9 November – Man, 87, Mater Dei Hospital
81. Monday 9 November – Man 75, Mater Dei Hospital.
82. Monday 9 November – Man, 74, Mater Dei Hospital
83. Monday 9 November – Man, 61, Mater Dei Hospital
84. Monday, 9 November – Man, 83, Mater Dei Hospital
85. Tuesday, 10 November – Man, 99, Mater Dei Hospital
86. Wednesday 11 November – Man, 81, Mater Dei Hospital
87. Wednesday 11 November – Man, 87, Good Samaritan
88. Wednesday 11 November – Man, 77, Mater Dei Hospital
89. Thursday 12 November – Man, 82, Mater Dei Hospital
90. Thursday 12 November – Man, 78, Mater Dei Hospital
91. Friday 13 November – Man, 95, Mater Dei Hospital
92. Friday 13 November – Man, 79, Mater Dei Hospital