Updated 12.45pm

There were 88 new cases of COVID-19 registered between Friday and Saturday, as the daily number of tests fell below the 2,000 mark for the first time in weeks. 

One patient died while a further 33 recovered from the virus, leaving Malta with 1,566 active COVID-19 cases as of 12.30pm on Saturday. 

The deceased patient - the 220th to die - was a 73-year-old woman who tested positive on December 14 and died on Friday at Mater Dei Hospital, the Health Ministry said in a separate statement.  

Data indicated that just 1,810 swab tests were carried out on New Year's Day, one of the lowest testing figures in weeks. The last time authorities carried out fewer than 2,000 daily tests was between December 7 and 8.   

As a result, the positivity rate - the share of tests which are positive - stood at a relatively high 4.86 per cent. On average, Malta's positivity rate stands at around 2.5 per cent. 

Contact tracing teams are still working to identify the source of the 88 new cases announced on Saturday. Health authorities said that of the 135 cases announced on Friday, contact tracers had determined that: 

  • 23 are family members of known cases
  • Seven are work colleagues of known cases
  • Nine were in direct contact with known cases
  • Seven were at social gatherings with known cases

No information was available about the remaining 89 cases detected that day. 

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