There is just one new patient of COVID-19 in Malta, Superintendent for Public Health Charmaine Gauci has announced, bringing the total number of cases up to 427.

Three patients have died and 118 have officially recovered after Gauci revealed that 19 more people have recovered.

Cases within the Ħal Far Open Centre did not grow today, which stands at 37.

The number outside of the centre’s walls has dropped dramatically in recent days, dropping to single digits over the past few days. The same cannot be said for the men inside which had been increasing daily.

The vast majority of cases in the centre have only been discovered through random testing, and the figures are expected to grow over the coming days and weeks. The number of daily tests is low, standing at around 20.

There have been 700 tests conducted yesterday, bringing the total up to just over 24,000.

Despite the number of new cases, Gauci stressed that health authorities aren’t focusing on daily numbers but on the overall trend. She also stressed that despite the good news, it was important to continue following social distancing measures.