School Christmas concerts will be allowed to go ahead this year, however students cannot mingle with the audience and those in attendance must be fully vaccinated and wear masks.
Health Minister Chris Fearne made the announcement as he was giving an update on the COVID-19 situation on Friday.
"The concerts can be held, but unlike in the past, we cannot have angels and St Joseph walking around the audience," he said, acknowledging the importance of the events for those with small children.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Malta continues to rise, with 50 new infections detected overnight. But the number of people with the virus in hospital remains stable at 16 people, including three in intensive care.
The update comes as the rest of Europe continues to grapple with an increase in infections. However, while other countries introduce restrictions, Fearne said there would be no fresh measures.
He said health authorities would continue to monitor the situation, mainly looking at hospital numbers in the coming days to see whether the increase in new cases is reflected in the number of hospitalisations.
He urged people to continue to wear masks, explaining that when the numbers in the community spike, there is a greater chance of meeting someone who might be infected.
"In schools, we have have around 10 small mini-clusters of two to three students infected. This confirms that masks work because otherwise there would be more case. For this reason, mask-wearing in schools will remain mandatory for the rest of the term," he said.
Since the start of the school year, there have been a total of around 150 cases related to the education sector.
Six of 16 patients unvaccinated
On those in hospital, Fearne said six of the 16 patients (or 40 per cent) are not vaccinated and all COVID cases in hospital have yet to be administered the booster dose. This confirms that vaccines work, he said, adding he was hopeful the booster could be crucial for Malta to keep the number of infections down.
The average age of those in hospital is late 70s and early 80s, he said.
Urging those eligible to get the booster dose, Fearne said that by the end of next week, all those over 70 would have been given their booster.
And in 10 days' time, healthcare workers would also have all received their third dose.
By the end of November, those aged over 60 will also start receiving invites to get their booster dose.
The additional dose, he said, would only be given four weeks after the second dose for those over 70s and the immunosuppressed. This gap goes up to six months for those under 70, although healthcare workers would be allowed to take third dose after four months since they are in constant contact with patients.
Fearne made the announcement during a press conference in St Lucija where he inaugurated a new primary care clinic.