Seven new COVID-19 cases were reported overnight, the Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci, said on Monday.

A total of 778 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, one patient aged between 10 and 20 has recovered, raising the total of recovered patients to 434. There are now 64 active cases.

Gauci said that the R Factor - the rate of transmission from infected persons - has risen above 1. However, she clarified, this was normal during a "transition period". 

The new cases are:

• A cluster of two people - a 41-year-old mother who started showing symptoms on May 9, and her two-year-old daughter who showed symptoms on May 8.
  
  
• Another cluster of three people at Mater Dei Hospital related to a cluster announced on Sunday. They are a 47-year-old female healthcare worker, a 24-year-old man who is a healthcare worker in the same ward and a 26-year-old female healthcare worker who did not have any symptoms. 
  
  
• A 30-year-old woman who underwent a  test with her partner, who in his case did not test positive.
  
  
• A 41-year-old healthcare worker at Karin Grech who tested positive during routine testing after showing no symptoms.
  
  

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Gauci said one patient remained in the Infectious Diseases Unit, one in intensive care and three at Boffa Hospital. Compared to abroad, Malta's rate of hospital admissions was low, she said.

"While measures are being relaxed, we cannot go back to normal life yet," she said, urging all to wear masks when shopping and to observe social distancing.

Containment measures, she said, would be relaxed on the basis of monitoring.

"Some countries have seen an increase in the number of cases after relaxing measures, but this could have happened because they lifted several measures at once. We are being cautious," she said.

"We are trying to avoid a second wave and its impact, however, we will continue  preparing beds just in case." 

Complications following COVID-19

Asked whether local authorities were monitoring recovered patients, following international reports that some of those who previously tested positive for COVID-19 had suffered long-term damage to organs like the heart, kidneys, and brain, Gauci said most cases in Malta were young people with no complications.

Those who had suffered complications while being treated for the virus were being followed up by primary health care.