Tista' taqra bil- Malti.
The Superintendent for Public Health Prof. Charmaine Gauci gave the latest details on coronavirus cases in Malta and Gozo. The highlights were that 15 cases were found on Tuesday, with 11 found on Monday. 9 cases were recovered over 2 days. This brings the total of active cases to 113. 16 cases of the 26 cases over the two days were asymptomatic.
Asked by Newsbook.com.mt about antibody testing, Prof. Gauci said that it can indicate the immune response of a population, and that they are using these tests. These do not replace swab testing, since swab testing indicates the presence of virus particles in the present.
The infographic below provides key information on Tuesday’s updates.
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Given that childcare centres are closed, and that children cannot be left with their grandparents, Prof. Gauci said that recommendations have been issued for teleworking. This is in order to allow parents to take care of their children at home.
Following the relaxing of measures, is the number of cases as expected? Prof. Gauci said that the increase in testing means that more positive cases are found. The most important principle when relaxing such measures is to increase the rate of testing.
15% of cases were asymptomatic, excluding 50 cases at Ħal Far which remain in question as to whether they were asymptomatic or not.
Asked by Newsbook.com.mt about antibody testing, Prof. Gauci said that it can indicate the immune response of a population, and that they are using these tests. These do not replace swab testing, since swab testing indicates the presence of virus particles in the present.
On the mitigation measures in relation to beauty services, the principles are social distancing, small amounts of people, and protection such as face shields.
She recommended that small businesses such as hairdressers clean their water tanks, and flush the water system by allowing fresh water to flow through the pipes. This is in order to avoid presence of legionella.
Addressing the relationship between legionella and coronavirus, Prof. Gauci said that it is a bacteria that lives in stagnant water, and causes pulmonary problems which are unrelated to COVID-19. She said therefore that given that certain businesses have been closed for weeks, legionella might be present in water systems.
Addressing the question of who regulates the wearing of masks on the bus, Prof. Gauci said that you're obliged to wear it since you're in close contact with other people. Bus drivers should not allow people on the bus who are not wearing a mask.
Asked whether the situation is under control, Prof. Charmaine Gauci said that testing has been increased to find all the cases possible, and that the current relieving of measures may be reversed if needed.
Onto the journalists' questions.
Prof. Charmaine Gauci stated that the health directives must be followed in order to keep the situation under control. The virus is still within the community which means we must stay vigilant.
16 cases of the 26 cases were asymptomatic. There is a decreased risk of them spreading the virus, but the number of tests has been increasing in order to reduce the risk of infection as much as possible.
5 cases were found via contact tracing and further investigations.
10 cases of 26 cases exhibited symptoms, amongst which were 2 children who are 2 years old.
11 cases were found on Monday. 15 cases were found on Tuesday. There are 113 active cases in total.
9 cases have recovered over 2 days.
This is the first week in which Prof. Charmaine Gauci will not be delivering the press briefings on a daily basis but on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that as from Friday, businesses will reopen their doors after having been closed due to the pandemic.
It was also announced that another 4 patients have successfully recovered. The total number of active cases stands at 103, pending today's update.
Yesterday, 11 new coronavirus cases were detected following 1519 swab tests carried out in 24 hours.
Prof. Gauci is expected to address the press conference at 12:30 pm.
Good afternoon and welcome to this live blog.
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