Ten days. That’s how long it’s been since March kicked off, and it’s already been the worst month in Malta for COVID-19 numbers.

In the last 10 days, the islands have seen a total of 2,875 cases in what’s quickly become a record-breaking month for practically every virus-related statistic.

With active cases going from 2,678 on the 1st of March to over 3,400 a mere four days later, Malta is currently dealing with some of the highest active cases it’s ever had to deal with. But new infections are just the tip of the worrying iceberg.

In the last 10 days, Malta has also seen a total of 21 virus-related deaths, including a new incidence of COVID-19 patients dying in their private residences.

Of course, with this being the month Malta marked a whole year of COVID-19, all eyes were always going to be on March. But many of us were probably hoping for a better way to remember one of 2020’s darkest moments than all-time high numbers in 2021.

Meanwhile, the island’s healthcare system has tried to storm ahead despite everything, with 2,391 people being announced as recovered in the last 10 days. 

Vaccinations – which have long been touted as the country’s solution to its long-term ailments – have also continued to climb.

In the last 10 days, Malta gave out 25,792 new vaccine doses, and there are now 35,093 people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Spurred by this latest tsunami of infections, Malta has properly bolstered up its testing, with 39,658 swabs being administered in the last 10 days. That’s an average of 3,965 daily tests, far higher than anything the islands have ever seen.

With new daily infections already hitting the never-before-seen 300 – then exceeding it twice, then exceeding 400 earlier today – March is already looking like one for the books.

This, of course, despite Prime Minister Robert Abela promising just two months ago that March would be the month Malta hits the ground running, going so far as to say he’d “like us to have recovered by March”.

In two months’ time, meanwhile, Abela had said Malta would be “business as usual”.

What do you make of these numbers? Let us know in the comments below