Malta will be one of the safest places to travel to this summer, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said during an interview on CNBC.

The Health Minister was asked about the Covid-19 situation, as well as the vaccination process in Malta.

He noted that Covid-19 cases are going down and the situation at the hospitals is easing. Malta still has the highest vaccination rate in the EU, he said.

Asked if it is still too early to open up to tourism, Fearne said Malta will be one of the safest destinations because most of the population will be fully vaccinated by summer. A third of the population has received at least one dose and around 13% have received both doses.

“At the moment we have restrictions for travellers. Once people are vaccinated, these restrictions can be eased,” he said. He added that the introduction of the so-called vaccination passport on an EU-level will also allow Malta to receive tourists in a safe manner.

Asked about Austria’s recent criticism of Malta in terms of the number of vaccines procure, Fearne said the EU’s joint procurement mechanism has been a success. “Yes, there are countries that are vaccinating at different rates. One of the reasons is that not all of us took advantage to purchase the vaccines that were made available through the joint procurement process. Malta availed itself of all possibilities so we have an over-supply, so we have more doses than we need, but that means that we could possibly donate that surplus, even to countries outside the EU.”

“At the moment, the EU as a bloc is in a good place. Now is not the time for vaccine wars. If anything, this is a time for vaccine diplomacy. If there is a race, it is a race for not between members states but between the vaccine and the virus,” Fearne continued.

“If these were the Olympic games, Malta would be a gold medallist, but this is not a game and we are taking it very seriously,” he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Malta’s hospital facilities “have been stretched, but not overstretched.” The country is working on a plan to catch up with the non-Covid situation and also to be prepared for the next health emergency. “Unfortunately, this is not the last pandemic that we will see during our lifetime.”

The EU is also setting up such a plan, which will specifically look into preparedness for the next health emergency, he said.