Recent comments made by an MTA Director instructing establishments how to circumvent Legal Notices meant to protect the public’s health is one of many examples of how certain lobbies are continuously attempting to undermine the efforts made by public health professionals to bring this pandemic under control, the Medical Association of Malta said Thursday.
The MTA, in reply, said that what MAM was referring to was an internal communication meant solely for compliance personnel and not for the industry.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of constant attacks against the public health profession whose only interest is the public’s wellbeing, it added. "We can no longer work in an environment where we are constantly undermined and called fearmongers, and we cannot be made responsible for the failure of the government to prioritise the population’s wellbeing over the short-term economic interests of the few", MAM said.
Public Health Medicine doctors, together with many others, have been working tirelessly day and night, 7 days a week, and away from their normal duties for the last 6 months to attempt to control the Coronavirus pandemic. Our advice based on scientific evidence has been proven to be effective, since the pandemic was well under control in the beginning of summer.
As public health experts we had proposed a transparent framework based on an evidence-based risk assessment with clear thresholds to follow which would allow certain establishments and activities to restart with mitigation measures. This was meant to be a dynamic system which would react quickly to changes in the number of new cases. Instead of following this plan, government decided not to publish it and go against all reasonable public health advice.
The result is that we are now witnessing a resurgence in cases which is worse than we had in April and May. As we have mentioned before, this virus is not something that we can wish away, or trick into submission. It is a real threat against our way of living, and unless we control it using tried and trusted public health measures, we will continue to lose control and end up in an even worse situation than we are in now.
To highlight this issue, doctors working within the COVID-19 Response team which includes Public Health Medicine specialists, Specialist Trainees and Foundation Doctors protested with a one hour strike against the government’s handling of this pandemic by striking between 8am-9am on Thursday 20 August 2020 with the exception of doctors working at the Testing Centres.
Unless the public health authorities are allowed to function without undue influence and pressures, there will be consequences on the population’s wellbeing which none of us wish to even dream of.
MAM said that all members working in public health fully complied with the one hour strike by MAM from 8.00AM to 9.00AM in protest to undue interference without scientific basis from other ministeries.
Public health doctors work includes coordination of the public health response to Covid 19. They normally perform administrative work, organise and participate in swabbing centres, actively perform, track and tracing or covid cases. All other data collection and analysis with regards to Covid 19 leading to scientific advice is also done by these doctors who are specialised in epidemiology which is the science of controlling epidemics.
MTA reaction
In a statement, the MTA said instructions referred to by MAM was an internal communication meant solely for compliance personnel and not for the industry. The guidelines issued were temporary measures until certain clarifications on legalities were made to ensure a uniform way of enforcing the new measures introduced by the Health Authorities.
The MTA would like to inform the MAM/public that the essential element that patrons at bars and other catering establishments had to consume beverages and food seated, not standing, with the established and mandatory distances between tables and all other mitigation measures as per established protocols were never put into question. Hence, the impression given by MAM that the risk has been increased through these instructions is unfounded and gives the wrong impression to the public, MTA said.