Homes for the elderly reported no new COVID-19 cases this week for the first time in months, public health chief Charmaine Gauci revealed on Friday.
Care home residents were among the first people to be offered a COVID-19 jab when Malta’s vaccination drive began in late December and early January.
Visitation rules at homes for the elderly were relaxed in April and are due to be eased even further on May 17, when residents will be allowed more visitors and for longer periods of time.
Gauci revealed that the homes were completely virus-free this week while speaking during her weekly COVID-19 briefing.
Twelve new COVID-19 cases were announced on Friday, with one patient dying overnight. The total number of active cases stands at 252.
Where are cases being traced to?
The majority of new cases are in patients aged 20 and 24. The average patient age now stands at 37.7, Gauci said.
Seventeen of Malta's current virus cases are in Gozo. One incoming traveller who arrived in Malta from Italy tested positive at the airport.
The positivity rate - the percentage of swab tests that are positive - currently stands at 1.1 per cent.
Herd immunity calculation based on single vaccine dose
More than 115,000 people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Gauci said.
Healthcare workers have administered 365,902 doses so far in total.
Vaccine uptake continues to be very positive, Gauci said. Registration was opened to people aged 30 to 39 this past Tuesday.
Gauci provided a breakdown of vaccine uptake among each age group:
Over 60s: 95% have taken at least one dose
50 – 59: 72% have taken at least one dose
40 -49: 59% have taken at least one dose
30 – 39: 51% vaccinated with one dose or have applied for a vaccine
Answering a question, Gauci said that authorities are basing their "herd immunity" calculations on the number of people vaccinated with at least one vaccine dose.
Studies have shown that all approved COVID-19 vaccines provide a strong immune response even after just one dose, she explained, and calculations were therefore being made accordingly.
Authorities said last month that they are aiming to have offered a vaccine to 70 per cent of adults by the end of June, with all over 16s offered a dose by mid-August.
Anyone aged over 60 who has yet to be vaccinated should call 145 to receive a vaccine appointment, Gauci said.
Vaccine side effects and quarantine
Nobody has been hospitalised due to adverse effects of vaccination, Gauci said, as she reassured people that it was normal to feel somewhat unwell after being inoculated.
Fully-vaccinated people must still respect mandatory quarantine rules, Gauci clarified, pending the results of scientific studies which are seeking to determine whether this is necessary.
Locally, authorities are carrying out a pilot study of their own in which healthcare workers [who were the first to be vaccinated] are being allowed out of quarantine after five days, rather than the standard 14.
The project's results appeared promising, Gauci said.
"If the science permits, we will reduce quarantine where possible," she added.
How many patients are in hospital?
Virus cases continue to decline, Gauci said, with the seven-day moving average of cases declining to 20.
There are currently 53 virus patients in hospitals across Malta and Gozo. They are:
Mater Dei ITU - 4
Mater Dei IDU – 6
Mater Dei other wards – 10
Gozo General Hospital – 2
Boffa Hospital – 28
St Thomas Hospital – 0
Karin Grech – 1
Good Samaritan – 0
Mount Carmel – 2
Nightclubs
Gauci tempered the hopes of nightclub owners and event organisers, saying that these were classified as mass event venues and that mass events remained forbidden for the time being.
Similarly, buffet-style restaurant services are not permitted, she said, even if such buffets are waiter-served.
Sports
Answering questions, Gauci said that authorities had decided to delay the resumption of contact sports for children to June 28 because the priority was for schoolchildren to complete their examinations - education was a priority, she said.
"Non-contact sport is fine, but contact sport [for children] will only resume once school is out," she said.
Post-secondary schools will remain online, Gauci said. Students this week sent letters to authorities imploring them to be allowed back into physical schools.
Malta's COVID-19 case numbers have plummeted in recent weeks to months-long lows, with hospitalisation rates also down significantly as the country races towards its vaccination targets.
The updated reopening strategy announced on Thursday foresees restrictions on restaurants and gyms being eased by the end of May, with bars, theatres and cinemas slated to reopen as of June 7.
Come June, people will also be allowed to take off their masks while at the beach without risking a fine, organise a sit-down wedding or play a game of football with their friends.
Summer schools and contact sports for children will only be permitted from the end of June, however.