Around 110 doctors are currently under quarantine, the head of the Medical Association of Malta has said.

Martin Balzan said that the medics had to self-isolate after either travelling abroad or "for medical reasons".

The government’s medical register has over 2,000 doctors listed, which would suggest that around 5 per cent of doctors are currently under quarantine.

However, Balzan said the situation is still under control and that doctors are “coping well” with extra resources coming from the cancellation of non-emergency surgeries.

He said that many of the doctors were in quarantine because they had travelled recently.

“Our position has been clear from the start: people should avoid travelling. We had even called for a travel ban for healthcare workers and the stopping of flights,” Balzan said.

Contacted about the issue, a health ministry spokesperson could not confirm the number of doctors under quarantine.

Balzan said that while the situation is still under control, it was better that those under quarantine were at home and ready to go back to work as the numbers of those infected with the virus increase.

He also said that it was better to take extra precautions now than to be “sorry later”.

The fact that the hospital had started scaling down operations and even halted non-urgent surgeries from Tuesday also meant more medical staff had become available, he said.

As of Tuesday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases stood at 38. The health authorities are expected to give an update later on Wednesday.

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The health ministry spokesperson said that everyone had to follow quarantine rules.

“If doctors’ relatives travelled, then they too have to be quarantined,” the spokesperson said.

In the latest legal notice on quarantine rules published on Tuesday evening, the Superintendent of Public Health now has the authority to decide whether “the quarantine of certain persons providing an essential service be subject to different conditions”.

The notice does not state who these persons might be or what service they provide.