The number of newly detected COVID-19 cases rose to 791 on Saturday, marking a high point since early January. 

Data published online by the Superintendence of Public Health revealed that one further person died while infected with the virus in the previous 24 hours. No information about that victim was made available. 

There are currently 6,495 active cases, a record for 2022 so far. The last time active cases topped 6,000 was on December 22. 

That data made available publicly does not include information about the number of patients requiring hospital treatment or intensive care – arguably the most important metric in measuring the threat posed by the pandemic.

According to data published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, as of last week Malta had the lowest rate of COVID-related ITU occupancy across the EU. 

Health Ministry officials stopped publishing daily COVID-19 updates abruptly on Monday, one day after Labour’s electoral victory. No explanation was given for the sudden change. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela has indicated that he wants to phase out all COVID-19 restrictions and leave it up to people to choose how to safeguard their health.