Rumours that health superintendent Charmaine Gauci has resigned are “fake” and “untrue”, a spokesman for the government said today.

Word is going round like wildfire on social media that the health chief handed in her resignation, possibly as a result of differences in the way the government is easing up restrictions related to the Coronavirus.

But, contacted by The Malta Independent, a spokesman for the government said that what is being said is fake and that Gauci still retains her post.

Gauci has been handling daily press conferences for 10 weeks since the first case was registered in Malta. This week, the press conferences have started to be held just three times.

The government has had to face pressure from the business community to re-open the economy which has been stagnant since early March. Professionals from the health sector have on the other hand called for more restraint as Malta is seeing an upsurge in the number of cases.

As from tomorrow, restaurants and vanity shops will be reopening with restrictions. But the number of new cases has shot up in the last week and the number of active cases has doubled in the last 10 days.

Prime Minister Robert Abela has also intervened with a post (below) on the social media.