The number of new COVID-19 cases jumped to 488 on Tuesday, the highest since April 10, when 542 cases were registered. 

Five people also died while positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, the biggest number in a single day since early April.   

Malta's COVID-19 death toll has now reached 735. 

There are currently 3,295 active cases.

The number of new cases, which does not include results from tests done at home, has risen fast in the past month. 

There were 115 new cases at the beginning of June, and the 200 figure was reached on the 14th. A total of 315 new cases was recorded on Sunday.

On Monday Health Minister Chris Fearne announced the Health authorities would be issuing a second invite to the over 65s  to take the second booster. 

Times of Malta reported last week that the hospitalisation rate has tripled, from 2.3 per 100,000 patients to 6.9 per 100,000, according to the weekly review by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The Omicron XE sub-variant of COVID-19 was detected in Malta early this month and is known to be more infectious than previous variants, but not considered to be more severe. 

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