Parliament will be the discussing the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday morning, Speaker Anglu Farrugia has ruled.

Earlier, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech presented a motion requesting an urgent debate on the current Covid-19 situation. The request was made in terms of parliament’s Standing Order 13 as a ‘definite matter of urgent public importance.’ 

Grech observed that Malta registered 510 new Covid-19 cases in a day and there were more than 3,100 active cases. 

“It is unacceptable that the Maltese people are talking about this subject but at the same time the highest institutions of the country are not taking the time to discuss this matter further,” Grech said.

The situation has become so serious that Mater Dei Hospital has been forced to open the fifth and final intensive care unit, therefore this situation needs to be addressed immediately and decisively by the authorities” he said. 

In reply, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the government was willing to hold this debate after the announcement of the new restrictive measures which were put in place to control the pandemic.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia said that the request made by the Opposition was considered and seen as being in the public interest, according to Parliament’s standing orders.

Farrugia added that he also considered what Prime Minister Abela had to say regarding this matter, including his statement that he was willing to hold a discussion after the measures were announced.

“After considering what the Opposition Leader had to say, I decided to hold a Parliamentary sitting to discuss the situation on Thursday morning,” Farrugia said.