Sixteen people who contracted coronavirus have now recovered from the virus that has caused the deaths of two people in Malta.

As the numbers of coronavirus patients increase, so too have the numbers of those who have recovered, with 11 new people declared free of the virus on Wednesday.

Malta has registered a total of 299 cases, meaning that around five per cent have now survived.

A patient is considered to have recovered from COVID-19 if two tests, carried out 24 hours apart, both return negative, according to the World Health Organisation. 

Patients who test negative for the virus are still required to spend a further 14 days in quarantine since researchers in China have reported cases of people who test negative subsequently retesting as positive up to 13 days later.

There are no details about the new recoveries, although the authorities have previously confirmed that Malta's first coronavirus case, a 12-year-old Italian girl is among the survivors. 

On Wednesday, the island registered its first coronavirus casualty after a 92-year-old woman died in Gozo. A 79-year-old man died some time later, becoming the second person to die from coronavirus. 

Both had underlying health issues.