Two more deaths from Covid-19 brought the pandemic death toll to 89, it was announced last night.

There were 46 new coronavirus cases out of 3,438 rest results that came back to officials – a positivity rate of 1.3 per cent.

But the number of active cases dropped to 812 from the 860 announced on Wednesday.

There are 43 Covid-19 patients in hospital, eight of them in intensive care, down from 49 and ten at the last update.

Three of the new cases came from overseas, with the rest classed as on-island transmissions or under investigation.

A total of 609 cases are now being investigated by health officials.

There have been 122 recoveries since Wednesday.

There have been five people admitted to hospital and four have been discharged over the same time frame.

Of the imported cases, 91 per cent occurred in vaccinated arrivals.

Among on-island transmissions and cases under investigation, 68 per cent of infections were unvaccinated people.

Variant typing for the virus remains unavailable because of testing priorities.

Kim Wilson, the health minister, said the vaccine booster programme was scheduled to start today.

She added: “Seniors in rest homes and staff will be among the first to receive the booster, together with people who are immunosuppressed.”

She detailed the schedule for vaccinations and booster shots, with those booking their first and second jabs able to register online here.

The King Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s vaccination centre will offer boosters for immunosuppressed people on Sundays and Wednesdays, from 8am to 8pm.

First and second shots, by appointment, will be given from 4pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Saturdays from 8am to 8pm.

A second vaccination centre will open next week at the National Sports Centre, for people aged 65 and above who want to get a booster shot.

It will operate next Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 6.30pm.

Local/Under Investigation cases: 32 per cent are fully vaccinated and 68 per cent are not vaccinated