Health authorities are to issue a second invite to the over 65s, encouraging them to take the second booster dose, as the number of COVID-19 cases rises.

Minister for health, Chris Fearne, said the invitations will be sent to those who have missed their appointments. 

His appeal came as the number of new infections on Sunday soared to 315, the highest since mid-April. The figure may be higher if those who have self-tested have not informed the authorities. 

A new sub-variant of Omicron has been blamed for the increase in community transmission, and Fearne said that underlined the importance of "maintaining high levels of immunity".

The number of people who died while testing positive for the virus has, however, remained steady, averaging one every two days in the past week.

Times of Malta reported last week that the hospitalisation rate has tripled, from 2.3 per 100,000 patients to 6.9 per 100,000, according to the weekly review by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

There were 50 hospital patients on Friday who had tested positive for COVID-19,  half of whom are non-symptomatic. Three, with an average age of 66, were being treated at the intensive therapy unit.

Figures last week showed that with just over 1,000 tests carried out daily, the positivity rate had risen to around 20 per cent, or one in every five. Those figures did not include those who tested for COVID-19 using home kits.

The Omicron XE sub-variant of COVID-19 was detected in Malta early this month. It is more infectious than previous variants, but not considered to be more severe.

The administration of the second booster shot began in early April, initially for immunocompromised people and all those aged over 80.

Over time, the age was gradually lowered, but the ECDC said at the time that there did not appear to be a need for a second booster for those aged below 60 with normal immune systems. It argued that there was no conclusive evidence that vaccine protection against severe disease was waning or that there was an added value of a fourth dose.

The roll-out of the second booster for those aged over 65 started last month.   

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