Two new COVID-19 testing centres to be opened in Qormi and Burmarrad

Two new COVID-19 testing centres will be set up in Qormi and Burmarrad, Health Ministry Chris Fearne said on Saturday. 

The two centres will bolster local virus testing capacity and allow authorities to carry out more swab tests on a daily basis, following a surge in demand for testing in recent weeks. 

Malta currently has COVID-19 testing centres in Luqa, Pembroke, Mater Dei Hospital and Gozo. Together, those centres can carry out up to around 2,000 tests a day, and Fearne has said he would like to see that rate increase to 2,500. 

On Friday, Fearne had also said that authorities had engaged more lab technicians to ensure labs, where tests are processed, would be able to keep up with the increased testing rates. 

Testing backlog could have led to more cases

Malta’s testing rate per capita is among the highest in the world, but a surge in demand for tests late in July led to significant delays in testing times, with some people reporting that they had been given testing appointments up to 10 days after they first called the 111 COVID-19 helpline.

Speaking on Saturday, Fearne said that backlog could be in part to blame for the resurgence in coronavirus case numbers, as...