In its weekly report, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), published figures showing Malta with the lowest Covid-19 case and death rates within the European Union for the week ending, Sunday 16th of May 2021.
The figures in the weekly surveillance report are based on data collected by the ECDC from the official national sources and compared with data from previous weeks. The rate of cases is calculated over 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants, positioning Malta at 25.26, the lowest in Europe. Malta’s death rate also reported the lowest at 1.9 based on 14-day death notification rate per 1 000 000 inhabitants.
According to the statistics, Portugal had the second lowest case rate at 47.82 and Denmark with the second lowest death rate at 2.23.
By the end of the week ending Sunday 16th of May, the 14-day case notification rate of the EU/EEA, based on data collected by ECDC from official national sources in 30 countries, was 224 per 100 000 population. The rate has been decreasing for six weeks.
With the decrease in active Covid-19 cases and the increase in immunisation numbers, the EU continues to finalise its plans for the Digital Green Certificate or ‘Vaccination Passport’ for use across the Union. The aim of the Digital Green Certificate is to help restore and facilitate the free movement of citizens within the European Union.
Earlier this month, Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela, proposed that Malta would make an ideal pilot country for the rollout of the EU-wide digital certificate, as the national health authority aims to issue its own vaccination certificates to its citizens by the end of May.
Malta is aiming to be among the first countries in the EU to issue its own certificate which will show that a person has been inoculated against COVID-19. Malta has set the beginning of June as the date for re-opening for tourism.
