Eight Members of Parliament from both sides of the House have been placed in quarantine after travelling abroad, but none is believed to have contracted coronavirus.

Clerk of the House Ray Scicluna said the MPs sit on both sides of the House.

No decision has been taken yet for parliament to suspend sittings, but a House Business Committee meeting is expected to discuss the way forward at a meeting on Monday afternoon.

Early on Monday, Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli said on Facebook that she had been advised to stay in quarantine after having been in the same room with a person who later tested positive for coronavirus. The minister was tested but the result was negative.

The government last week laid down that all travellers need to stay in quarantine for two weeks once they return to Malta.

The Maltese parliament does not allow proxy voting by MPs but in the past, when the government majority was narrow, 'pairing' arrangements were made whereby MPs would be 'paired' with MPs from the other side who could not attend sittings and would therefore not vote if divisions were called.