Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci made a public plea to Malta’s foreign residents on Friday, urging them to stay indoors and be wary of coronavirus carriers who are infected without knowing it.
Speaking in English, Gauci said that people should avoid the sunny temptation of heading outdoors on Friday – a public holiday – and warned that the virus causing COVID-19 could be present where they least expect it.
“There is a high risk that you may meet someone who is actually a carrier for the virus,” Gauci warned anyone thinking of socialising.
“Stay in, stay safe,” she told people, urging them to respect social distancing rules implemented to slow the virus spread.
It was the first time that Gauci spoke in English during a daily COVID-19 briefing. She has been delivering a similar message in Maltese since the prevention measures began.
Friday's sunny weather, with temperatures reaching up to 20 degrees Celsius, drew some people to playgrounds and open-air areas during the public holiday.
Laws introduced to enforce social distancing guidelines forbid people from gathering in groups of more than three, with fines of €100 for each law-breaker. Unlike countries like Germany, Canada and Singapore, Malta has not introduced fines for people caught standing too close to each other.
Gauci made her warning after announcing 13 newly identified coronavirus cases, including at least two concerning patients who were not exhibiting any symptoms of the virus whatsoever.
Such cases, termed asymptomatic, present a major problem for public health authorities as they can spread the virus throughout the community unknowingly.
It is not known how many of Malta’s 350 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been classified as asymptomatic, with Gauci saying that the number is “much lower” than the number of more traditional, symptomatic cases identified.
She has however indicated that an epidemiological study which health authorities are currently compiling will provide a more detailed picture of such cases locally.
Research on asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 is still at an early phase and it remains unclear just how commonplace it is. Although multiple studies have identified asymptomatic carriers, findings vary widely from one study to another.
An Italian academic who tested an entire village for COVID-19, for instance, has claimed that 50%-75% of cases there were asymptomatic. But other studies have found far lower proportions. Of the 634 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, 17.9% of those infected with COVID-19 were deemed asymptomatic.
Part of the challenge researchers face is discerning truly asymptomatic carriers from people who have not yet exhibited symptoms but will do so in the days following testing – so-called ‘pre-symptomatic cases.
China, where the coronavirus pandemic first began, on Thursday said that it would be intensifying its efforts to detech asymptomatic virus carries.