Stronger border screening at all of Malta’s entry points could have kept the UK variant out of the country, PN leader Bernard Grech said.

The UK variant today is the main driver behind the record increase in Covid-19 cases in Malta, with health authorities stating that some two-thirds of the cases being found are cases of this variant.

Grech was speaking during an interview by TVM Head of News Norma Saliba on Sunday.

The bulk of the interview was dedicated to the Covid-19 situation, with Grech fielding several questions on this topic and on what the PN would have done had it been in government.

Grech said that more screening is needed at all the country’s entry points – in particular in the airport – noting that even today, those coming from Sicily only get their temperatures checked.  He said that effective screening – not the random screening which was first implemented – should have been in place since November and that it could have controlled the entry of the UK variant into the country.

He said that there should be a scientific advisory board in place made up of a group of experts who are independent and appointed by government and by opposition so that there is full transparency in the advice and decisions being taken.  Without naming names, Grech said that there are capable people who aren’t being listened to.

“I have faith in Charmaine Gauci and her team, but that doesn’t mean that the government is caring about what she says.  The government is interfering and she does not have the freedom to do what is necessary”, he said, reiterating his call for the calling of a public health emergency – which would give health authorities the power to act as they deem necessary.

He disagreed with the statement that the rest of the word is also seeing an increase in cases, noting that there are countries such as Portugal and Greece which are taking bookings for tourism over the summer, and that because we were not careful over the winter we are unable to do so as well.

Asked whether he thinks the measures will be enough to decrease cases by 11 April, Grech said that he cannot say what is needed in a month.

“We have to see how today’s measures affect the situation, see what our medical experts says, and then move accordingly – but things have to be done transparently”, he said.

Grech referred to a story published by The Malta Independent on Sunday where three workers from case management and contact tracing spoke of the pressure they are facing and said that they are now nine days behind.

He said that more investment in contact tracing is needed as they are clearly under too much pressure.

He also called for more transparency in the way the vaccination programme is being run and for more efficiency as well, noting that there are people who have been dead for years and received invites in their name, that workers at health centres do not have lists to corroborate who is receiving the vaccine, and that some people are receiving invitation letters twice.

On the governemnt’s recently announced reform for pre-1995 rents, Grech said that the PN had put pressure on the government to act and it did.

“It’s good that they reacted, but they did not do enough”, Grech lamented.

He said that many people want their property back, not money for it, and that the new law should have made provisions for landlords to get their properties back but for tenants to be able to find alternative accommodation immediately.

Asked about the internal situation within the PN, Grech said that on Jason Azzopardi action has already been taken against him before the party’s ethics board.

He said that it is a complete invention that Richard Cachia Caruana is somehow involved within the PN, and said that Adrian Delia’s activism within the party is far from being a disadvantage, questioning why Saliba chose to single him out in her question.

Moving onto the environment, Grech chose to keep his cards close to his chest – saying that he would answer questions on land reclamation and on the current division between planning (through the Planning Authority) and the environment (through the ERA) for the days in the run up to the general election.

On the Malta to Gozo tunnel, Grech said that the PN while in government was in favour of such a tunnel while the PL wanted to build a bridge.  In the end, he said, the PL had opted for the tunnel option, but noted that their standpoint may change on the basis that public opinion in Gozo has changed.

“They are afraid that the tunnel will bring more development”, Grech said.