A consistent decline in daily COVID-19 cases was maintained on Wednesday, with 40 new cases reported as a rule limiting public gatherings to just two people came into force.

The rule was announced on Sunday and does not apply to people from the same household. 

It has been more than three months since Malta has had as few as 40 new daily cases, with December 8 being the last time the figure was recorded.

The numbers have dropped dramatically since a raft of social distancing measures came in to place earlier this month, including the closure of schools, restaurants, and all non-essential shops and services. 

With 1,970 tests carried out over the past 24 hours, the positivity rate is at slightly over 2 per cent. 

Two COVID-19 patients died overnight, health authorities said. They were a man and woman, aged 84 and 91 respectively.

Both died at Mater Dei Hospital. 

The number of patients who recovered rose to 101, leaving 836 active cases in the country.

Healthcare workers administered more than 5,500 vaccine doses on Tuesday, with 1,200 of those being second doses. 

The number of vaccinations administered in total has risen to 191,716, of which 53,540 were second jabs.

To report breaches of COVID-19 public health regulations, call 21224001