The government announced new, harsher restrictions yesterday as part of efforts to reduce the transmission of Covid-19.
These measures came as a surprise to many, given that strict measures were already in place for the Easter period, however this shows that the health authorities are not willing to take any chances and are trying to, at all costs, avoid a repeat of the Christmas situation. The previous measures were having an effect, so the new measures should, in theory, quickly reduce the spread further.
The latest measures will limit all public gatherings to a maximum of two people from Wednesday. This will undoubtedly have a major impact on people who were planning on having picnics with a couple of friends, or exercising in groups. But this is not the time for group activities. The numbers have been going down, thankfully, meaning that the health authorities are finally bringing the situation under control. But all those efforts could be ruined if people decide to celebrate in groups over the Easter period, given that there are also two public holidays falling on weekdays this week.
As such, it was a wise decision to limit groups further. But this announcement will bring with it many questions, particularly once again relating to sports. The government and the health authorities would need to clarify this situation in those terms.
Another move made was to temporarily transfer all green list countries to the amber list, thus meaning that people travelling to the country would need to present a negative PCR Covid-19 test.
Given the spread of the UK variant both locally and abroad, this is a good move. To be honest, it should probably have been done sooner.
In order to overcome the pandemic, sacrifices must be made and we must all work collectively to keep not only ourselves safe, but our families and the families of others. We must remember that some people have suffered far more than others, such as the elderly in elderly care homes, who miss their family dearly, those who lost loved ones, those who went through life-threatening experiences in hospital as a result of Covid-19. We cannot afford to be selfish, and must understand that while some measures might seem drastic, they are needed at this time.
The UK variant of the virus is present in Malta, and is responsible for the majority of infections. We must remember that this variant is far more contagious than the original.
People are being vaccinated, and one hopes that the government can find a way to speed up this process. We must also remember that the vaccine is not 100% effective. Indeed there have been people who died from the virus after having both shots of the vaccine. We must achieve herd immunity in order to reduce the spread, and thus minimise the possibility of tragedy once and for all.