129 new cases of Covid-19 were found overnight, the health authorities said in their daily update.

Three more patients have died, bringing the total number of deaths up to 206.

The number of active cases now stands at 1,485. The total number of cases since the pandemic reached Malta is `12,241.  

There were only 3 recoveries, for a total of 10,550.

2,071 swab tests were carried out over the past 24 hours. The number of tests carried out thus far is 501,411.

Saturday’s cases are still being investigated.

The authorities said that, from Friday’s cases 15 were family members of previously known cases, 4 cases were contact of positive work colleagues, 2 cases were from direct contact with other positive cases and 3 cases were from social gatherings and other positive cases.

Details about the deaths were announced later in the day.

The first case was an 81-year-old woman who tested positive on 5 December. She passed away on Christmas Eve at Mater Dei Hospital.

The second case was an 80-year-old man who tested positive on 10 December. He also passed away at Mater Dei on Thursday.

The third case was a 74-year-old woman who tested positive on 10 December. She died on Saturday at Mater Dei.