Cancer patients, insulin-dependent diabetics and people with heart failure are among a list of people currently being offered the COVID-19 vaccine.

Charmaine Gauci said letters were being sent to a "large group" of people inviting them for an appointment to get the jab.

The Superintendent of Public health was speaking during her weekly update on the COVID-19 situation on the island. 

On Friday, Malta recorded 154 fresh cases but no new deaths. So far, some 59,702 people have been vaccinated, with 19,199 people receiving a second dose.

Watch the update live below

Describing the progress on vaccination as "going well", Gauci said that those currently being offered the jab are 80-85 years olds, non-clinical front liners such as police, those working in detention centres and armed forces.  

She said letters are being sent to the next group of people, which includes:

• insulin-dependent diabetics;
• patients who are immunosuppressed;
• cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy;
• people who have been treated for cancer in the last six month;
• patients on dialysis;
• those admitted to hospital for respiratory problems;
• patients suffering from cardiac disease or who attend the heart failure clinic;
• people with Down's syndrome;
• people who use a BiPap machine.

As Malta is not vaccinating anyone under the age of 16, parents of vulnerable children will be offered the jab instead.

She encouraged people to wait for an appointment letter, saying they are being sent out in batches because the group encompasses a large number of people.

Addressing an issue highlighted by Times of Malta on Thursday, she said vulnerable patients living in Gozo, who were originally asked to travel to Malta for their vaccine, would now be invited to an appointment in Gozo instead. 

She also said that anyone who has been vaccinated and comes in contact with a positive case should still quarantine.

Additionally, anyone who has previously contracted COVID-19 should still take the vaccine, to strengthen their immunity. 

Where are patients being treated?

Most of the 2,435 people who have tested positive for the virus are recovering at home. 

Of the 149 people being treated in hospital:

• 16 of the sickest patients are in the intensive treatment unit at Mater Dei;
• Ten are in the infectious diseases unit at the hospital;
• And 54 people are in other wards;
• Ten patients are in Boffa;
• 13 are being treated in St Thomas;
• Five are in Karin Grech hospital;
• 11 are in Mount Carmel;
• 23 are in the Good Samaritan facility;
• And seven are being treated in Gozo General Hospital. 

How is COVID-19 being spread?

More than a quarter of the active cases can be linked to households, Gauci revealed with social gatherings and the work place also responsible for the spread. 

Just one case this week was 'imported', with a traveller from Germany testing positive from 1,197 rapid tests carried out at the airport.

New cases in care homes are also down.

The clusters of cases are: 

• Households - 545 cases;
• Social gatherings- 221 cases;
• Work place - 123 cases;
• Institutions - 58 cases;
• Educational - 35 cases;
• Sports - 14 cases;

Most people to test positive for the virus are aged 35 to 44.

Should we be concerned about the variants?

Gauci warned that the new variants of the virus spread faster and so appealed to the public to follow hygiene and social distancing measures. 

She said only one case of the South Africa variant has been discovered so far, while the number of UK variant cases has increased to 52.