The number of people who have recovered from coronavirus in Malta on Friday overtook that of those still battling the novel virus.

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci said on Friday that just two new coronavirus cases were registered overnight. 

A further 19 patients have recovered, meaning 223 patients in total have overcome COVID-19. Medical professionals are looking after 221 patients. This means that for the first time since the virus reached Malta, the number of active cases - those people who are still infected - is lower than the total number of people who have recovered. 

Gauci said that most local patients had not required any treatment. 

"The majority of our cases did not need to be admitted to hospital and so received no treatment. These patients recovered 'naturally'," she told reporters. 

In recent days, the number of positive cases has continued to dwindle while the virus rate of reproduction, its R0, fell to below 1. This means that every coronavirus patient is infecting, on average, less than one other person. Bringing the R0 to below 1 is a crucial part of authorities' containment strategy, as it means the virus has nowhere to spread to. 

In light of these figures, the health authorities have said in recent days they were looking at an exit strategy and said that some measures, introduced to help stop the virus from spreading, could start being gradually lifted. 

No details on which measures would be eased have been divulged, with the authorities saying they need to continue to monitor the situation before making any decisions.  

So far, Malta has registered a total of 447 coronavirus cases, with more than 27,000 tests conducted. Three of those patients have died.  

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