COVID-19 pandemic in Malta

The girl and her family were in isolation, as required by those following the Maltese health authority's guidelines who were in Italy or other highly infected countries.

[6] On 12 May 2021, the Minister for Health, Chris Fearne, stated that Malta would be the first EU country to open up the vaccine to its population of over 16 years of age.

[7] On 25 May 2021, Fearne announced that 70% of the Maltese population had become fully vaccinated, making it the first nation in the world to reach the minimum estimated benchmark for herd immunity against the virus.

[9] On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[7] On 25 May 2021, the Minister for Health announced that 70% of the Maltese population had become fully vaccinated, making it the first nation in the world to reach the minimum estimated benchmark for herd immunity against the virus.

[8] On 24 January 2020, the Superintendent for Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, predicted low exposure due to no direct flights between Malta and China.

[20][21] As the Italy coronavirus pandemic proceeded south with the first case discovered in Palermo, panic buying ensued and supermarkets were emptied.

[22][23] Maltese chandlers and ship workers refused to board vessels from Italy to unload cargo, unless they were provided supervision and clearance by medical doctors.

[30] In the midst of the pandemic, the Cabinet at Castille had a closed door meeting with hunting lobby over permanently sealing off natural reserves from the public and allowing access only to registered hunters.

[31] On 11 March, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced a ban on all sea and air travel (except for cargo) and a mandatory quarantine on travellers returning from the most infested countries of France, Germany, Switzerland and Spain from that day onwards, together with Italy, for which it applied for the previous 14 days.

[34][35][36] Following reports from spot checks, Malta tripled its mandatory quarantine fine to €3,000 each time since 16 March.

[38] On 22 March, Minister for Health Chris Fearne announced three more measures:[39] Any infringements were to be charged with a €3,000 fine each time.

Sources told Times of Malta that while the deceased had tested positive for COVID-19, his death was caused by other factors related to his escape attempt and was not linked to his viral infection.

[citation needed] On 17 September, WHO has corrected their deaths figures for Malta, they now reflect the official count.

[update][49] The charts below are based on the data collected by the Ministry of Health of Malta,[53] as per the actual dates.