Around 15 per cent of current COVID cases are aged under 19, marking an increase over previous months.

From the 4,404 cases between December 20 and 26, 178 patients were up to nine years old while 468 were aged between 10 and 19, the Health Ministry said.

From the first case of an infected child in the first quarter of 2020, the figures of COVID infection never surpassed 69 for those under 15 years that particular year, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Coronavirus cases among children only surpassed 100 in the first month of 2021, spiking in February and March and again last month.

Last March, over one in 10 COVID-19 cases were children, with the highest number being in the 11-17 age group.

According to the European Union agency, early December saw a rise in infected children and teens, with 366 cases, up from 143 the week before.

The figures were issued by the Health Ministry as schools remain shut this week due to the increase in infections over Yuletide and as vaccines for children aged five and over started last month.

The vaccine was rolled out to 12-18-year-olds from June but 10 per cent of cases over Christmas still impacted this age bracket.

The health authorities were not in a position to compare the local percentages with the global situation.