The Maltese government first chose to simply order a mandatory quarantine for people arriving from the UK but then, just four hours later, changed its mind to temporarily block flights to and from Britain as from Tuesday.

What happened in those four hours is a matter of interpretation – some would say that it is good that the government realised that a quarantine order at this stage is not enough, given also that many other countries had chosen to take the more drastic step to stop travelling to and from the UK.

Other would however speak of a U-turn of a government that is confused, unsure and divided over what to do as the pandemic continues to bring havoc. Its insecurity is coupled by over-optimism that all will be well soon. While other governments are wary and cautious on how they express themselves in the wake of an unprecedented crisis, Malta’s administration is openly too confident that matters are “under control”, when we all know that they are not.

These latest developments came after on Sunday, London announced stricter measures in the wake of a new strain of Covid-19, which is more contagious than the first.

The variant was identified in southeastern England in September and has been spreading in the area ever since. The World Health Organisation has said that the new strain has increased transmissibility, in terms of its ability to spread.

It was only in recent days however that news about this variant has made it to world news, and with Britain making its own decisions to control the spread, many countries, including European Union nations, quickly decided for an outright ban of flights and other connections from the UK.

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Bulgaria, Canada and Israel all announced bans on travelling from the UK, hours after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that Christmas shopping and gatherings in southern England were cancelled because of rapidly spreading infections blamed on the new coronavirus variant.

Even far away Latin American country El Salvador opted to refuse entry to anyone who has visited Britain in the last 30 days. Eurostar passenger trains from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam have also been halted.

The Maltese government at first thought that ordering a 14-day mandatory quarantine was enough. It said so in a first statement issued before 8am on Monday.

But it did not take long for the government to change its mind. By noon, another statement was issued, saying that all flights to and from the UK are temporarily banned. Any Maltese residents caught in the UK will be allowed to return to Malta, but will have to face a test upon arrival and be in quarantine for 14 days.

It is not the first time that the government has appeared to be in a state of confusion and too optimistic. We all know what happened in July, when the easing of restrictions led to a second wave of the virus from which we are still suffering, five months later. Even the fact that no extra restrictions have been imposed for the Christmas period – something which many other countries have forced in a bid to limit contagion – is a decision that we could live to regret.

Prime Minister Robert Abela seems to want to be able to boast that Malta was the first country to return to normality. He has already made predictions about what will happen when the vaccine becomes available.

Let’s hope he will be right on this one.