Two new cases of Coronavirus were reported this morning, bringing the total to nine, health chief Charmaine Gauci said today.

One is a man, aged 29, and the other is a woman, aged 26. Both are foreigners who work in Malta and returned from abroad.

Both, however, went to work on their return and the health authorities are checking people who they came in contact with. The two persons work with separate private companies.

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The authorities are also checking the people who were in close proximity to them on the flight back to Malta. The man returned from Brussels, while the woman went to Berlin by plane and then by bus to Amsterdam, Gauci said. She returned from the Dutch capital.

Today's two cases bring the total number in Malta to nine. All nine cases have been imported, and no cases of local transmission has been registered as yet.

Giving more details, Gauci said that the man, a foreigner who lives and works in Malta, went to Belgium on 5 March and returned on 8 March. He started feeling unwell a day later, 9 March. He lives on his own, but he went to work for one day upon his return. Because of this, the health authorities are checking with the company where he works to see who of his colleagues could have potentially been exposed to the virus. The authorities are are contacting the people who were in the same row with him on the plane - and another two rows in front and behind - to inform them that they were in the presence of someone who, until that time, was not experiencing any symptoms but who later was diagnosed with Coronavirus.

The woman, also a foreign worker, went to Berlin on 4 March and then on to Amsterdam by bus. On 6 March she started feeling unwell but remained in Holland, returning from Amsterdam on 10 March. She lives in a shared apartment with three other persons and, although she informed authorities that she did not come in contact with them, medical staff are checking her apartment-mates too. She went to the office for two hours and checks are being made on who she came in contact with. The people who were in the same row with her on the plane and two rows in front/back are also being contacted.

Gauci also gave details about the seventh patient who was diagnosed with Coronavirus on Wednesday evening. She said the woman, a relative of another Coronavirus patient, was in northern Italy between 1 and 8 March, and started to experience symptoms on 11 March. She was in contact with two other persons of the same family, who both tested negative.

While numerous companies and schools have taken the decision to close, Gauci insisted that there was no need to close schools and educational institutions. The Malta Employees Association has called for shutdown of schools between 19 and 24 March, yet Gauci explained that it is not necessary. She urged people to remain calm, and for people to take responsibility and if need be not to attend crowded areas when possible. “We urge vulnerable people to remain indoors as much as possible and to avoid going out unless necessary,” Gauci said.