Malta's total number of active COVID-19 cases stands at 680 after another 55 people tested positive for coronavirus overnight.

In all, 2,194 swabs were tested overnight.

Another 43 patients recovered between Sunday and Monday, health authorities said. 

Since the pandemic reached Malta's shores in March, there have been 1,667 known cases of COVID-19.

Up until Monday, the number of new cases had gradually decreased over the past few days - from 72 on August 15, it went down to 48 on August 18, and 36 on Friday.

Saturday and Sunday saw 31 and 35 new cases reported respectively. 

New case details

Details concerning the 55 new cases reported on Monday are still being gathered by contact tracing teams. 

Health authorities provided details about some of the 35 new cases reported on Sunday. Those cases included five patients who are relatives of previously reported cases and another five who were in direct contact with COVID-19 positive people.

Four cases were traced to gatherings. 

Another two were traced to the workplace, one was related to the Paceville cluster and another one was imported.

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The new cases were announced on Facebook by the health authorities, however, no reference was made to news that two separate lists of coronavirus patients held by authorities have a discrepancy of more than 200 cases between them.

The Sunday Times of Malta revealed that last week the authorities discovered that the country’s centralised healthcare database did not tally with a separate list being kept by public health chief Charmaine Gauci. 

Monday was the 26th consecutive day that Malta  registered a double-digit increase in the daily number of new coronavirus cases as the country experienced a significant spike in cases over the past month.

According to initial findings of a study by Mater Dei Hospital’s Pathology Department, immunity to COVID-19 seems to be lost within an average of two to three months post-virus exposure.

Although the observation has not yet been sustained by scientific evidence and further studies are needed, the research will not only help better understand the virus’s course of action but also the overall immunity status of the Maltese.

Photo: Facebook