Just one new COVID-19 case was registered overnight, bringing the total number of virus cases in Malta on Sunday to 611.

Healthcare workers now have 128 active cases of the virus on their hands, after three more patients recovered overnight. 

The latest numbers were published by the health authorities via an infographic on Facebook, after daily briefings were cut down to three a week recently. No details about individual cases were made available.

The new case was identified from 1,301 swab tests. Since the outbreak hit the island in March, a total of 60,812 tests have been carried out.

Malta is currently in what the health authorities have said is a "transition phase", with restaurants and hairdressers resuming operations re-opening their doors on Friday. They were only allowed to do so if they followed strict regulations, including social distancing and the wearing of masks.

Non-essential shops had re-opened their doors on May 4. 

On Saturday, the flight ban in place since March 22 was extended to June 15. 

In recent weeks, the number of active cases reached over a hundred, while the daily figures were again in the double digits range. 

The spike in numbers prompted healthcare workers coming together to urge the government to rethink its decision to reopen restaurants and hairdressers, a day before the non-essential services resumed operations. 

The doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers also warned about a second wave of infections hitting the island. 

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has previously remarked that the increase in the number of cases corresponded with an increase in the number of tests being carried out. These, she said, have been increased in recent weeks, on some days topping 1,700 tests. 

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