Just five new COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday, the lowest since July, and no deaths were reported for the fifth straight day.

Health authorities said in the daily medical bulletin that 17 patients had recovered, bringing down the total of active cases to 192.

It is the lowest number of active cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of August last year.

A total of 2,170 swab tests were carried out on Tuesday - significantly more than the 1,600 conducted the previous day, when six new virus cases were detected, and more than double the 1085 tests carried out on July 24, when Malta also reported five new cases. 

Vaccinations have increased to 393,929 of which 127,235 are people who have been fully vaccinated.

Earlier on Wednesday, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced that Malta would become the first EU country to offer vaccines to those over 16 on Monday. 

He said that the government will also have enough vaccines by the end of the year for young people and children to be vaccinated, should it become medically advisable.

Vaccine registration can be done online or via SMS, by texting your ID card number to 99180045 for an appointment in Malta or 99180044 for an appointment in Gozo.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.