The challenges foisted by Covid-19 have been stiff and prolonged, but Malta has determinedly managed to weather its adverse effects, on the health, economic and social fronts.

Public well-being took top priority, with early decisive steps taken to combat the pandemic and flatten the curve. A comprehensive programme of testing and contact tracing, later coupled with a rapid vaccination roll-out, contained the spread of the virus, keeping infections and deaths to be among the lowest levels recorded worldwide.

Similarly, no efforts have been spared in dealing with the economic and social fallout, with Government spending robustly to keep the economy afloat, safeguard jobs and assist workers and vulnerable persons. 

The measures taken have paid dividends, as widened by a restabilized public health situation and stronger business and positive consumer sentiment. Our economic activity has regained traction, leading the European Commission to forecast that Malta's economy will this year attain the highest growth rate, among all European Union economies.

The onset of the pandemic in Spring 2020, disrupted whole swathes of the economy and strained major streams of revenue. To mitigate this impact and assist businesses and workers, Government lost no time in devising with unions and employers, a raft of relief and support initiatives, which included the payment of monthly wage supplements to workers in hard-hit enterprises.

On their part, entities within this Ministry stepped into the breach to expeditiously soften the impact on families and vulnerable persons, through specially tailored social measures and services.  The measures comprised the launch of a support package, consisting of:

• An additional unemployment benefit to laid off workers;
• The payment of an allowance to parents who had to absent themselves from their workplace to care for their young children and for whom no remote work was possible;
• A grant payable to medically vulnerable, pregnant or disabled employees, who were precluded from reporting to work and unable to telework.

At the same time, affected beneficiaries continued to receive any social benefits to which they were entitled, and where applicable, the benefit rates were upgraded to further offset their changed circumstances and reduced incomes.

Despite the in-person provision of social services in district officers had been curtailed to protect staff from the spread of the virus, the processing of applications was fast tracked and within 10 working days from application the first beneficiaries started receiving their benefit instalments.

The ad hoc benefits were wound down following the relaxation of the containment measures by which time most of the affected persons were back at work.  Over a three-month period, a gross total of around €17m were paid out to almost 9,000 Maltese and foreign nationals.

The same exercise was effectively repeated last year, but on a limited scale, as the parental benefit was re-introduced in the wake of schools' closure and this in order to support those parents, who  once again had to stay at home to care for their children.  Payments amounting to €615,600 were again made to about 1,200 parents, mostly women.

Further funds were set aside as part of the recovery programme launched in the summer of 2020, for the enhancement of the In-work Benefit.  Households with parents in employment and having children up to 23 years of age were awarded increased rates and a special annual supplement of €250.

More immediate and drastic, was the action adopted by the entities providing community care and services for the elderly and persons with a disability, who at the time fell under this ministry.  Residential homes for the elderly were rapidly closed to visitors and strict prevention and control measures were put in place to protect residents.  To ease their isolation, residents were provided with tablets to keep them in touch through skype with relatives and loved ones. Staff was offered full-board alternative accommodation and transport facilities, if they opted to self-isolate as a precaution against Covid.

In recognition of their efforts to protect residents, this ministry extended up to €2m in grants to private and Church homes, to help ease the increased costs incurred to better equip themselves against the pandemic.

Prompt measures were also taken by Agenzija Sapport, the agency dedicated to the provision of services and support to persons with a disability.  Visits to residential centres were curtailed and day centres were closed down.  Professionals from the agency also took the initiative to conduct webinars in order to help clients and their parents cope with the ongoing challenges. The sterling performance of Parliamentary Silvio Parnis during these trying times cannot be commended enough.

Self-isolating elderly and vulnerable persons living on their own in the community, found support from the Foundation for Social Welfare Services (FSWS) and a few NGOs, through home deliveries of groceries, medicines and meals.  FSWS itself distributed more than 18,000 state-funded food parcels, to persons in need in Malta and Gozo.

For persons suffering from loneliness, anxiety and psychological disorders, round the clock helplines were specially operated to extend mental and emotional solace.  At the height of the crisis, Agenzija Appogg in tandem with the Malta Association of Counsellors, also rolled out counselling services for persons suffering anxiety and loneliness.

Inevitably, Malta's economy was slowed down by the outbreak, but its inherent strengths coupled with multi-million support packages were instrumental in buffering the financial and social fallout from the adverse effects of Covid-19.   

Instead of high unemployment and a greater number of people on social assistance as predicted, Malta has successfully recorded its lowest number ever of jobless persons, the lowest number of persons on social assistance and the lowest rates of persons in material deprivation and severe material deprivation.

The spirit of solidarity of the Maltese was strikingly in evidence throughout the ebb and flow of the pandemic.  The public service as a whole rose to the challenge, and departments and entities within this ministry, like all those falling under all other ministries, pulled together to proactively serve and assist, not least through the provision of front-line services which were especially crucial at the height of the pandemic and still remain key, as we slowly go back to normality.