Mater Dei’s Fourth ITU On Standby, 18 COVID-19 Patients And Nine Former COVID-19 Patients Receiving Intensive Care
Mater Dei’s fourth ITU for COVID-19 patients has been placed on standby while a fifth one is available if needs be, well-informed health sources have told Lovin Malta.
Sources said that 18 COVID-19 patients, as well nine former COVID-19 patients, are currently receiving intensive treatment.
Malta’s hospitals are believed to have the capacity for around 50 COVID-19 patients, but this would require a shift in human resources and a subsequent postponement of elective surgeries.
Official hospitalisation numbers are published every Friday during Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci’s briefing. At her most recent briefing, she said that 96 COVID-19 patients are being treated at Mater Dei, including 19 who were in intensive care – the same number as the previous week.
Malta confirmed 510 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, a record single-day rise since the start of the pandemic. Calls have grown for the government to impose new restrictions, with Opposition Leader Bernard Grech calling for the nation to declare a public health emergency.