Events with 25% capacity, with a maximum of 300 people, should start to be held by 14 June, with the intention to gradually open up to full capacity by September, campaigners under the name of Restart said in a Facebook post announcing their proposals.

The events and entertainment industry has been hit by Covid-19 restrictions and was initially left in the dark as to when it such activities could be held. However, it appears that positive discussions are underway to gradually kickstart mass events once again.

Recently, Health Minister Chris Fearne said that Cabinet agreed that “it would eventually be possible for activities to take place and would be restricted for those who would be fully vaccinated.” 

Restart is made up of “thousands of highly-skilled individuals whose businesses and livelihoods have been seriously damaged”, its Facebook page says.

In a Facebook post, the campaigners posted a set of five proposals with a defined timeline for the events sector.

The first proposal is that by 1 June, activities with the participation of DJs will be allowed again. Last week, speaking to The Malta Independent, president of the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) Howard Keith Debono said that ban on DJs was “discriminatory”.

The second proposal is that on 14 June, the country would se the reopening of events with a 25% standing capacity up to a maximum of 300 people.

Then, on 1 July, activities with a 50% standing capacity, up to a maximum of 800 people, should be allowed.

For first day of August, Restart is proposing that there should be a 75% standing capacity in such event spaces with up to a 1,000-person event taking place.

Finally, on 1 September, the country should be fully open to a 100% standing capacity of licensed venues since the entire population is projected to be fully vaccinated by August.

The capacity of the events are based on m² of the gated club or event, Restart said, while also stating that only fully-vaccinated people should be allowed to attend such events. Whether one is fully-vaccinated would be confirmed by a health officer at the door via the vaccine certificate.

“Given the country’s rapid progress in its vaccination programme and the success of the vaccine in fighting the virus, these are our proposals for a safe restart of controlled events. The decision to open for vaccinated persons only is entirely at the authorities’ discretion, which we continue to respect in these unprecedented times,” the campaigners said.

They did note that “these measures will be required in this interim period” until the pandemic subsides, but they said that they “have reached a level of confidence that would not require these protective measures anymore”.