119 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday, along with the first death in four days of Covid-positive person. 

The number of virus victims has now risen to 709.

There are currently 2,825 known active cases of the virus. 

On Saturday, the government announced a further easing of Covid restrictions, saying that the  ‘traffic lights’ classification system of countries for COVID-19 purposes will end on Monday.

The decision means that countries will no longer be classified as ‘green’, ‘red’ or ‘dark red’, opening up travel between Malta and the roughly 100 countries and territories that Malta still classified as ‘dark red’. 

Countries on the dark red list were effectively closed off from Malta, as travel required prior written authorisation from the Superintendent of Public Health and was subject to mandatory quarantine, even if travellers were vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The distinction drew strident criticism from business lobbyists, who called the lists “draconian” and said restrictions were sorely hurting Maltese business opportunities. 

Travellers entering Malta will still need to present a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate, recent negative test result or a recovery certificate upon arrival. Those failing to do so will be required to quarantine for up to 10 days. Children aged 6 and under are exempt from these requirements. 

The decision to do away with the travel lists comes one week after authorities stopped requiring travellers to fill in a passenger locator form when arriving in Malta.