Bars, nightclubs, band clubs, and discotheques will have to shut down as of Wednesday, while Malta is expected to announce a list of countries on a new amber travel list on Monday evening.

The new measures are being announced to reduce community spread and to keep the virus from being imported, Health Minister Chris Fearne said.

So far, Fearne explained, we have two travel lists: the red list, which includes countries from which travel to Malta is banned, and the green list for destinations where travel is unrestricted and does not require quarantine.

“We are now introducing the amber list”, he said.  This will be effective from midnight on Friday.

Those coming from these countries need to bring a certificate showing they are negative for Covid-19. The test cannot be more than 72 hours old. Authorities can do random tests on wherever they deem it necessary. The amber list will be reviewed every week.

Bars, nightclubs to close down again

From Wednesday at 8am, clubs, nightclubs and discos will be closed. Bars , sports clubs, and band clubs (kazini) will also be closed except those that have restaurants.

Only diners will be allowed. People will not be allowed to go for drinks.

Boat parties will also be banned as from Wednesday at 8am. Fearne said harbour boat cruises where no alcohol is served can continue operating.

Gatherings of more than 15 people will no longer be allowed in public places as from Wednesday. Those who do will be in breach of the law.

Further restrictions have been introduced with regards to mask wearing, wherein people have to wear a mask on public transport and in their own cars if they are given a ride to someone.

Seated weddings

As from 28 August at 8am, weddings have to be seated. Not more than 8 people can be seated at one table.

Tables must be placed at least two metres away from each other. Food and wine has to be served at the table.

Charmaine Gauci said these measures are based on evidence. The authorities have been evaluating the situation and the measures are “proportionate to what we are seeing in the community.”

Restaurants and shops are not being closed because the situation there has remained under control, she said. “All these new measures are based on the principle of social distancing. We felt that more control measures were needed in certain sectors.”

The measures come after the government was criticised for its handling of the pandemic in recent days, after a spike in new cases. Several cases were related to a hotel pool party, a feast and Paceville nightclubs. Mass events have been stopped and smaller gatherings have been restricted but the authorities are facing pressure to close down the entertainment hub in St Julian’s.

Enforcement

During the conference, Fearne was repeatedly asked from a variety of newsroom including The Malta Independent if rumours about PM Abela being at on holiday in Sicily, however, he refused to comment on the situation, saying that this has nothing to do with the COVID-19 situation.

This newsroom also asked how the September examinations will take place considering the implementation of the 15 person group limit which is below the usual number of persons in an examination room. Fearne said that Health Ministry is currently in contact with the Education Ministry on the issue and these discussions will be extended at a European level as in the coming week both the Maltese health and education ministries will be discussing education with EU health and education officials.

Similarly, he was also asked on how this measure will affect training and sporting events, and he said that each situation is being analysed on a one to one case adding that there have already been discussions with the MFA on how Maltese players can travel for international matches.

Asked about the use of masks while walking in the street in public areas, Fearne said that this is recommended in cases where social distancing is difficult to abide by, otherwise there is the 15 person per group regulation to prevent spread of the virus in such areas so wearing masks in public is not obligatory in this case.

Prof Gauci was asked to give an idea of the total amount of quarantined healthcare workers and if this is affecting the efficiency of the hospital. She said that currently there are around 1,200 quarantined healthcare workers and while this does cause a hinderance in human resources, the protection of patients is of more importance.

Asked to explain the number of individuals who have been hospitalised, Gauci said that 9 cases are 9 cases currently at the Infectious Disease Unit (IDU), 4 in a COVID-19 specialised ward at Mater Dei Hospital and 2 cases at the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), meaning that 1 ITU case has recovered since last Tuesday.

Fearne was also asked why certain measures introduced during the first wave of the pandemic in Malta are not being introduced seeing that we are in a worst state now, Fearne said: “when we were going into the pandemic we were reacting depending on the evidence we had then but now we have more information so what we are doing now is not a mirror copy of what we have done back then.”

He added that the measures being implemented are not being introduced because of what health associations like MAM have said but for the best of the country. However, he hopes that by taking this step these associations understand that the government is on the same page and prevent health personnel from forfeiting medical services during such a critical time.

Gauci was also asked about the number of inspections and fines that have been issued in total since the start of the pandemic.

Gauci explained that 49,896 inspections were carried out on quarantined cases; 19 fines were issued against people who tested positive or lived with relatives who tested positive while another 177 were fined for breaking quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive. 

Inspections on premises total to 21,651 inspections and 36 fines were issued while 10,272 inspections of mitigation measures were made, and 9 fines were issued. Additionally, alongside the MTA, health authorities carried out 195 inspections on events wherein 2 were fined, and an establishment was forced to close last weekend.

Finally, 1,457 inspections were made regarding the recent mandatory use of masks and 118 have been fined since then.

“We increased our enforcement resources through Transport Malta and LESA who are working on transport surveillance,” she added.