A total of 1,545 people were fined for breaking COVID-19 regulations over the past week, including for not wearing a mask and being in groups of more than four people.

The majority of fines (1,289) were handed out to people who weren’t wearing facemasks while 148 people were fined for being in groups of more than four.

Another 180 fines were issued to people breaking other COVID-19 regulations, including that on how many people can be in one household.

Originally, four households were allowed to gather at one residence. However, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci announced last week that this had to be reduced to just two households following revelations that the majority of new COVID-19 cases were coming from households.

The fines carry a €100 penalty which can be reduced to €50 if the guilty party admits and pays.

A further six people were also fined €10,000 each for breaking quarantine regulations, which requires an individual to self isolate for a period of two weeks.

Malta introduced a fresh set of COVID-19 measures on 11th March, including closing all non-essential shops, sending the country into a quasi-lockdown for one month.

As of this week, COVID-19 cases have started to decline, with more recoveries being registered than new cases per day.

There are currently 2,603 active cases on the island.

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