The number of people admitted to hospital for treatment for COVID-19 has fallen by a quarter during the semi-shutdown introduced to stop the spread of the virus.

Some 113 people are being treated for the virus, Charmaine Gauci told a briefing, down 24 per cent from the 150 she detailed in her last update before schools, restaurants and non-essential shops closed on March 11. 

Those being treated in intensive care have almost halved, from 28 on the day the quasi-lockdown was announced, to 15 on Thursday. 

"We can see the correlation between hospitalisation and what is happening on the outside: when active cases decrease so do people who need hospital stays," she said. "It's good and it's encouraging.

Gauci's briefing comes amid low case numbers and a vaccination strategy which places the country first in the EU in terms of the proportion of population vaccinated.

On Thursday, there were 52 new cases from 1,762 tests and two more deaths, both men aged 69 and 71.

Earlier this week, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo announced that Malta would reopen to tourists in June, with a particular focus on attracting people from the UK, traditionally the island's largest tourism market. 

However, flights from the UK are currently banned in a bid to prevent more variants of the virus reaching Malta from abroad. 

Watch the briefing live below

Gauci began her briefing with details of the vaccination strategy. So far 197,388 have had at least a first dose, meaning more than a third of the population has received a jab. 

She encouraged anyone aged over 75, who has yet to receive an invitation for the vaccine to contact the helpline on 145. The focus is now on those aged over 60, she said. 

However, she did not reveal how many of the over 70s have been vaccinated, instead saying that 95 per cent of the over 80s have had the jab.

"The coverage rate is always increasing and we're confident we will reach the coverage rate as we have on the first cohort," she said.

Where are patients being treated?

While the vast majority of the 740 active cases are being treated at home, some 113 are in hospitals. There are:

• 14 patients in Mater Dei's intensive treatment unit;
• 10 patients in the hospital's infectious diseases unit;
• 44 patients in other Mater Dei wards;
• Four people in Gozo Hospital, including one in intensive care;
• 14 patients at Sir Paul Boffa;
• 13 patients in St Thomas hospital;
• Four people at Karin Grech;
• Eight at the Good Samaritan facility;
• Two people at Mount Carmel

Where is transmission happening?

The more contagious variant first identified in the UK, which partly drove a surge in cases last month, remains dominant in Malta, accounting for 76 per cent of positive cases.

Earlier this week, the number of households allowed to gather was reduced to two, and the statistics show that homes remain the top source of the spread.

Some 142 cases this week were from households, 55 from social gatherings and 17 from workplaces.

The number of active cases in Gozo has dropped to 32. Only those living on the island or who have homes there are currently allowed to visit. 

An average COVID-19 patient is 39, while the average age at death is currently 74.7 years old.  

Seven arrivals into the country tested positive at the airport, all from Poland and Bulgaria where there is a high rate of COVID-19 transmission. 

Asked how the spread of the variant would affect the calculation of reaching herd immunity, Gauci said studies were ongoing. However, she said it would continue to be important to vaccinate to reduce hospitalisation and deaths. 

On plans for exiting the current shutdown, which is scheduled to end on April 11, Gauci said the strategy for exiting it would be announced by the government. 

She ended her briefing with an appeal for everyone to be responsible over the public holidays.

"When everyone is responsible Malta is successful," she said. "Let's work together to keep the numbers low."