VALLETTA (ITALY) – Malta made a mark for not recording any new coronavirus cases in a week on Thursday. This is the first since the virus was detected there for the first time on March 7.
Health Minister Chris Fearne confirmed in a tweet that no new cases had been detected for a week. The last single case was on July 9.
“We must continue to be prudent to maintain our success,” he said.
Malta was witness to 674 cases and nine deaths in almost four months but now only has four active cases. The rest have recovered. The Mediterranean island has reaped benefits from its small size by employing a high rate of testing. Around 20% of the population tested.
Its economy, however, has been drastically affected by the closure of airport, with tourism accounting for a third of GDP. Flights started operating again on July 1 and services were extended on Wednesday to 50 countries.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.