There are 19 new cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in Malta, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has confirmed.

The total cases of coronavirus in Malta have now reached 129. Yesterday, only three cases were confirmed.

However, Gauci said the authorities were anticipating today’s numbers, reiterating that their aim has always been to keep the infection rate increasing at a slow rate and control the number of new cases as much as possible.

Today’s figures are the highest recorded by Malta since the start of the outbreak, two more than the number of new cases confirmed on both Monday and Sunday. All of the coronavirus patients are in good health, while a 61-year-old man who became Malta’s first critical case last week is no longer in a critical condition, although he remains in ITU.

Eight of today’s 19 new cases are believed to have been imported from other countries, four were identified through contact tracing of patients who had earlier tested positive for the virus and the remaining seven contracted the virus from within the community. This includes an 81-year-old Maltese man whose condition is stable but who is being monitored closely by the health authorities for potential developments.

Gauci reiterated her call on people to stay at home as much as possible and on employers to introduce remote working systems where possible and, if not possible, to screen their employees for symptoms.

She urged anyone with symptoms, even light ones, to call 111.