Health Minister Chris Fearne this morning sounded a strong warning about the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that “everyone is terrified” about the omicron variant, which spreads more easily and on which little is known.

Coupled with the onset of the influenza season, the coming weeks could bring about a “perfect storm”, he said.

Speaking on the Labour Party’s TV station during the programme Paperscan, Fearne was referring to a meeting he had with European health ministers a few days ago, during which all expressed their preoccupation about the development of the pandemic.

“The biggest fear is when you don’t know. When you know, you can plan,” he said.

Many countries are fearing the worst and are expecting (Covid-19) storm clouds to gather over Europe, he added.

There is no doubt that the omicron variant will spread all over the world, including Malta. We immediately took steps to limit travelling from the countries which were first affected by the omicron variant, but it is now clear that it is spreading fast and “we would be fools to think that it will not arrive here”.

We are seeing a situation in which the immunity of people who took the vaccine at the start of the year is decreasing. It is clear that after a number of months there is a need for people to get the booster jab, he said.

Although the government has started a campaign for people to take the booster dose, the numbers are still low and this means that the country’s general immunity is going down. Social gatherings are also on the rise because of the Christmas festivities and all of this is leading to an increase in the number of cases.

We are also expecting the influenza season to start in late December, Fearne said. History tells us that a year with low numbers of influenza – as was last year – is normally followed by much bigger numbers the following year, the minister said.

This will lead to what many would describe as the perfect storm, Fearne said.

The government, he added, is pushing the booster campaign as much as possible to be able to limit the damage. He said that another step taken was the re-introduction of the mandatory wearing of masks in public.

He said that in a few days’ time people aged 35 and over will also be eligible to apply to get the booster jab.