Malta has registered 10 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Saturday. 

Fearne revealed the number during a press conference held in Gozo to discuss the island's preparatory work for the coronavirus pandemic. 

He noted that the number was relatively low for the third successive day, but urged people to guard against complacency. 

Malta now has 149 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with two patients having recovered and no deaths so far. 

Although Fearne revealed the number of new patients during his press conference, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci will nevertheless be holding a daily briefing at 12.30pm.

Fearne argued that Malta was on the right path and said that the World Health Organisation had highlighted the Maltese example as one of best practices during a ministerial meeting held on Friday.  

Later on Saturday, Hans  Kluge, WHO regional director tweeted: "Congratulations deputy prime minister Fearne for the #publichealth measures! #Malta is on the right track and an example to follow."

Change of rules 'not a political issue'

The Health Minister alluded to a sudden revision of restrictions applicable to groups most vulnerable to COVID-19, saying that authorities were operating in "unprecedented times" and being forced to "rewrite the rulebook."

Fearne said that following his initial announcement on Thursday, cabinet had met again on Friday and decided to "fine-tune" the regulations, insisting this was not due to any lack of resources or agreement. 

"We needed to ensure that these measures for vulnerable people are effective and sustainable over a period of time. We launched these measures to protect their own wellbeing," he said. 

"This is not a political issue," Fearne insisted.

123 beds being prepared in Gozo 

Fearne said that the government had asked Steward Global Healthcare for 120 beds to be made available for COVID-19 patients at the Gozo General Hospital as well as 20 intensive care beds, with 13 of them used for COVID-19 patients. 

The hospital will be making 123 beds available, he said. More than half of those are already available and all the beds requested will be available within the next two weeks, he said. 

The 123 beds at Gozo General Hospital are a one-third increase on the original 80 bed allocation that the government had announced for Gozo two weeks ago. 

Gozo will also have its own oxygen cylinder stock, to ensure the island will not face shortages should there be any service disruption between Malta and Gozo. 
 
Staff is being trained at the Barts Medical school and immunocompromised patients are being treated there, to ensure they are kept apart from any COVID-19 patients.

“I hope all these preparations are for nothing and we will not need this capacity, but we have to be prepared,” Fearne said.

Gozo Minister reassures locals

Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri reassured Gozitans that the only coronavirus case identified on the island had been isolated and there appeared to be no spread of the virus there so far. 

Some 80 elderly people hosted at the hospital’s Sant’Anna wing are being relocated to another building in Victoria, which is close to the hospital, Camilleri said. This would free up the 80 beds they occupy at Gozo General Hospital. 

A sports complex in Victoria has been transformed into a second Civil Protection base. 

Protocols have been introduced to ensure that any patient who tests positive for COVID-19 in Gozo and is taken to Malta, is transported on a specially-charted vessel.

Steward Global Healthcare chief operating officer Nadine Delicata clarified that the decision about whether to treat a patient in Malta or Gozo was a purely medical one, taken by doctors responsible for the case. The same went for transportation arrangements. 

With a COVID-19 testing hub now operational in Xewkija, testing is also taking place in Gozo.  So far, no patient has tested positive in Gozo, Delicata said. 

Camilleri urged people to avoid non-essential travel between Malta and Gozo, saying “now is not the time for weekend breaks”. 

All Gozo Channel vessels are being disninfected overnight and every passenger must have their temperature taken before being allowed on board. 

Correction March 28: A previous version mistakenly stated that Gozo's testing hub is in Xemxija.