Some 789 fines were handed out over the last seven days to people failing to abide by COVID-19 rules, health authorities have said.

The vast majority of penalties, 706, were issued to people failing to wear a mask properly while 57 people were fined for gathering in groups of more than six people.

And there was one case where people were caught gathering more than four different households together in a private home, which has been illegal since Friday.

The remaining 25 fines were related to establishments not following rules or the organisation of banned events.

The fines, announced on Monday, came from 5,768 inspections carried out by various enforcement bodies, and took place during a week where new measures were brought in to curb record-breaking COVID-19 case numbers.  

Anyone caught failing to wear a mask, gathering in groups of more than six or of of more than four households in private homes can be fined €100, reduced to €50 if the offence is admitted and paid up front. 

While 2,910 checks were made on people quarantined to stop the spread, the authorities said "it turned out that all the people were following quarantine obligations".

The numbers of those caught breaching COVID-19 rules were announced on the same day that people shared their confusion over the measures after a woman was fined for removing her mask to eat in a picnic area.

Last week, police charged a person for organising an illegal party in Pembroke during the weekend that saw cases reach record numbers.

During the weekend Hamrun Spartan fans held a large gathering to celebrate the teams victory against Hibernians on Saturday.

The next day, in the same town, Transport Malta officials broke up a tombola party which saw over 60 people attending. 

Enforcement is carried out by the Malta Police Force, Transport Malta, Malta Tourism Authority, Health Authorities and LESA officials.