Malta has recorded no new COVID-19 deaths for the first time in almost a month, as the trend of low daily cases continues amid lockdown.

A total of 64 new COVID-19 cases were announced by health authorities on Tuesday, making this the 11th consecutive day that the number of new cases remains in double-digits. 

The last time Malta had no deaths was on March 8. 

Tuesday's new cases were found from 2,164 swab tests taken over the previous 24 hours.

Active cases declined for the 20th consecutive day and now stand at 528, after 67 patients recovered overnight. The last time Malta had fewer active cases was on October 6. 

A total of 219,161 vaccine doses have been administered so far, with 60,096 of those being second doses. 

A European Medicines Agency official said in an interview published Tuesday that there is a link between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and blood clots. He said, however, that the cause of the reaction is still unknown.

Malta is administering jabs produced by Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca.

More than 99 per cent of those given a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed immunity against the virus and did not get infected after receiving the jab.

The decline in numbers has put pressure on the government to loosen some of the containment measures. 

However, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the government's reopening plan will see the authorities being "very cautious" and education will be given priority. 

On Monday, teachers said that the physical reopening of schools should not be one of the first COVID-19 measures to be relaxed.

Doctors on Tuesday warned that the current practice of free-for-all boarding on commercial flights with random swabbing on arrival is insufficient and presents significant risks.

To report breaches of COVID-19 public health regulations, call 21224001 

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.