New COVID-19 cases shot up by 63 between Tuesday and Wednesday, the health authorities said on social media. 

The high number of new daily cases - a three-week record - comes after several days in which the number of new daily virus cases appeared to be gradually dwindling.  

Malta last recorded more than 60 new COVID-19 cases on August 17, when 69 cases were detected. 

A total of 31 patients overnight, recovered bringing the number of active coronavirus cases in Malta at 12.30pm on Wednesday to 388.

The health authorities said in their daily update on Facebook that 2,044 tests were carried out between Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning a total of 207,185 swabs have been taken over the past six months.

So far, 14 deaths have been linked to COVID-19 in Malta.

Malta's total number of cases per 100,000 population is 79.8, the fifth-highest in the EU, according to the European Centre of Disease Control’s daily list.

EU member states including Malta are expecting the first delivery of a potential COVID-19 vaccine in December, conditional to the success of late-stage trials.

Trials for that vaccine, by AstraZeneca, have been paused after a trial participant fell ill.

Superintendent of Health Charmaine Gauci told Times of Malta readers in her column Ask Charmaine that clinical trials data on the vaccine will be evaluated by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use within the European Medicines Agency.

From Tuesday’s cases

• Five were relatives of previously known cases;

• Three cases were traced to the workplace;

• One was a direct contact of a positive case;

• One case was imported; and

• Seven cases were from different homes for the elderly.

No information was given about the other cases.

Wednesday’s cases are still being investigated.

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