Around 4,000 elderly persons living in care homes in Malta and Gozo are being administered the second booster show, health minister Chris Fearne said on Monday.

He was speaking during a visit at Saint Vincent De Paul residence, where he was accompanied by the minister for the elderly, Jo Etienne Abela.

Fearne said that, while restrictive measures are being eased, it is important that the most vulnerable are protected. For this reason, 17,000 people aged over 80 and 6,000 others who have low immunity have been invited to take the second booster shot.

Another 2,000 elderly persons aged over 80 and who are bedbound will also be given the shot in the coming days.

Minister Abela sid that almost 90% of residents at SVPR had already received the first booster doseand will be receiving their second dose in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Fearne also said that, with immediate effect, pregnant women who are positive for Covid-19 can now be accompanied by one person during childbirth. This also applies to partners who are in quarantine, given that they do not have any symptoms.

Also from today, people travelling to Malta from red zone countries do not need to quarantine if they have a recognised vaccine passport or a negative PCR test.

Standing events were allowed as from Sunday.