There is no coronavirus outbreak at Mount Carmel, according to the facility’s CEO Stephen Sultana, who said on Tuesday all cases were “brought in” from outside the hospital.

In recent days, the health authorities confirmed there were two COVID-19 patients who are being treated at the mental health facility in Attard.

This sparked concern the facility was facing an outbreak, something it might not be equipped to handle given the rundown state of the hospital that has often made headlines in past years.

But in comments to Times of Malta on Tuesday, Sultana insisted there was no cause for alarm and the situation at the Attard hospital is “completely under control”.

Patients are kept in a secure unit and isolated

The CEO dismissed concerns of an outbreak, saying that the two cases reported in the past days were brought into Mount Carmel hospital.

The cases there, which he said were just two and not six as was reported by some media reports, involved patients who were admitted after they tested positive for the virus.

“The patients are being kept in a secure unit and isolated,” Sultana said.

As people will continue to require psychological treatment even during an epidemic, Sultana said, patients from outside the facility were still being admitted from time to time.

The new patients, however, are also subject to a period of quarantine before they are admitted to wards.

The hospital is also working on setting up a special section in case there are patients in the coming weeks with more aggressive symptoms, although those requiring intensive care would then be treated at Mater Dei.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced on Tuesday that a helpline for those with mental health concerns related to the virus outbreak would start operating on a 24-hour basis as from Wednesday.