A third patient at Karin Grech Hospital has died after being diagnosed with coronavirus. So far there have been a total of eight patients with the virus at the hospital.

The 97-year-old man is Malta's seventh victim of the virus since the pandemic reached the island in March. 

He had been receiving treatment at Karin Grech Hospital and was diagnosed on May 17.

Last month, a 79-year-old fellow patient at the hospital died and on May 5, another patient, an 81-year-old man also died. 

The Health Ministry in a statement on Wednesday expressed its condolences to the latest victim.

All of those who died after contracting COVID-19 had serious underlying medical conditions.

Malta registered the first Covid-19 linked death on April 8, a month after the first virus case was reported. The first victim was a 92-year-old woman.

An 84-year-old man died on April 11 and a 96-year-old woman died on April 25. 

Two weeks ago, a 53-year-old heart surgeon became the sixth victim.