Malta has the second highest COVID-19 death rate in Europe, fresh data shows, as the number of patients infected with the virus continues to spike. According to weekly data by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) for the week ending June 26, Malta had a mortality rate of 17.4 deaths per one million people. Only Portugal had a higher rate, at 39.5 deaths per one million people. The rate had peaked to over 60 deaths per one million people in April before consistently dropping for over two months. It then again started to pick up in mid-June. The increases can be seen to mirror spikes in community cases, although deaths often tend to occur a couple of weeks after rises in infections are detected. In recent days, hundreds of new infections were confirmed by the authorities, with just as many other cases believed to have been detected through home kits. Those using such kits are not obliged to report their results to the authorities. In fact, health sources have suggested there are thousands of other cases in addition to those on the official list. On Sunday, 500 new cases were detected by the authorities. Despite the spike, Health Minister Chris Fearne has...