The number of confirmed cases of swine flu in Malta may have risen to 111 from 92 since the weekend but so has the amount of those recovered, with 92 already cured, leaving 19 still sick.

Of those diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, 56 were male and 49 female, a spokesman for the Parliamentary Secretariat for Community Care said.

No complications have been registered and patients were either recovering on their own or with the help of the antiviral Tamiflu, he said.

The situation at the hospital has, so far, remained under control, following the falling ill of two medical staff members after they were in contact with a foreign student on an exchange programme at Mater Dei Hospital who displayed the symptoms and was sent home.

"Luckily, they worked in a team in a contained environment, unlike staff nurses, who were in contact with many people," he said, adding that they are being treated at home.

No other cases of swine flu have been reported at the Safi Barracks detention centre after an immigrant contracted the virus a few days ago.

"Both the immigrant and the group she has been in contact with have been quarantined for seven days, after which swine flu passes alone, so there was no risk of someone hiding the symptoms and spreading the flu," the spokesman said.

As in many EU countries, the government has moved from containment stage to mitigation, focusing on reducing the impact of the illness on patients, instead of trying to contain its spread.