Almost all of Malta’s Covid-19 restrictions will be removed as from 2 May, with Health Minister Chris Fearne promising “normality with responsibility.”

The announcement was made during a press conference on Friday.

Fearne said that because even when Covid-19 cases were high, the number of people in ITU remained stable and low – the government’s exit roadmap can continue and arrive at the point that almost all measures can be removed.

As from the 2 May, a number of mitigation measures will be relaxed.  Fearne explained the measures which will remain in force after this date.

Quarantine and Isolation

As from 2 May, only those who are positive for Covid-19 will need to isolate.  They must isolate for seven days following their positive test, and then can emerge from quarantine after a negative test on the seventh day of quarantine.

If they are still positive on the seventh day, they will have to wait another three days before coming out of quarantine.

This measure applies to both those who are vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Primary contacts – including those who live in the same household as a positive case – will, from 2 May, not need to quarantine. However, it is still recommended that those who are living with a positive case avoid contact with them, and also take a swab test three days after the Covid-19 case’s isolation begins.

The exceptions to this rule are in elderly homes and hospitals, where a Covid-19 patient’s roommate will have to stay in isolation as well.

Wearing of masks

Masks will only be obligatory in hospitals, medical clinics, elderly homes, and on board flights – although they are still recommended on closed public transport and in other closed spaces.

Travelling

When it comes to travelling, the red and dark red zone system will remain: those coming from a red zone can enter Malta with a valid vaccine certificate, a recovery certificate, or a negative swab test under the already established parameters.

However, the Passenger Locator Form necessity will, from 2 May, be removed.

All other measures will, from 2 May, be removed – meaning that social and cultural events can be held under total normality, as can weddings, and that English Language Schools can welcome students normally.

Fearne said that this is the “normality with responsibility” which the government is striving for in the coming weeks.

Testing

Free testing will remain in all swabbing centres, except for the one in Ħal Farruġ so that resources available are used effectively, Fearne said.

A total of 249 patients have tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. 88 patients were admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 upon routine checks in the hospital, 39 patients were admitted due to Covid-19, whilst two patients are currently in the ITU due to Covid as well, Fearne said.

Around 7,000 doses of the fourth vaccine have been administered to those who are aged over 80 and those who are considered vulnerable. This vaccine will be offered to all those people who fall under this cohort by 2 May.

Fearne pointed out that the removal of these restrictions does not mean that the virus no longer exists, but rather, it means that the community needs to be more cautious and responsible.

“The health authorities will continue monitoring the situation, but we have finally reached a point where we can start returning to normality,” Fearne said.

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci said that the seven-day moving average has decreased to 12% from 21%.

Gauci also noted that only 51% of Covid-19 related deaths were caused by the virus in April, down from 76% previously.

“This goes to show that the vaccine against the virus works as it has made a positive effect on the cases we have within our community as well as on the death rate,” Gauci said.

She noted that “the age cohort between 25 – 49 years are the ones currently being impacted the most by the virus. However, we are now also seeing that the rate of positive cases who are aged over 80 is also increasing. Therefore, it is imperative that this cohort takes the fourth jab,” Gauci said.

Meanwhile, answering questions by The Malta Independent on whether the health authorities plan on offering the fourth jab to other cohorts in the coming weeks or months, Fearne explained that based on information that both the Maltese health authorities has as well as information that the ECDC is giving out, at this stage, there are no recommendations that the fourth dose should be offered to other cohorts.

Asked for a reason as to why the health authorities chose to put a stop to publishing Covid-19 related information on social media, Fearne said that Covid-19 related data is still being reported on a daily basis. The only difference is that this is not being published on Facebook but on a specific link.

According to the ECDC, Malta has the highest number of Covid-19 hospital admissions in Europe, although the health authorities say that the majority of patients are being taken to hospital for other reasons but then turning out positive upon routine checks.

Asked on whether the health authorities believe that the spread of the virus is worse than it really is since many cases are being detected at random, Fearne explained that “when comparing Malta’s rate to other countries, we have found out that that the way Malta’s rate is being reported is not necessarily the same as how it is being reported in other countries as different criteria may be used.”

“We are reporting all those people who result positive with Covid-19 in hospitals regardless of whether they entered hospital because of Covid-19 or because they simply came for another reason and tested positive because of a routine check. On the other hand, there are countries who are only reporting those positive cases who enter hospital because of Covid-19 only,” Fearne said.

Answering other media questions about the wearing of masks in schools, Fearne said that the law is now clear and from next Monday it is not obligatory to wear the mask within schools.

This does not mean that it is prohibited, so if there is anyone who wants to keep on wearing the mask within school, can do so, Fearne said.

He compared this situation to that of bringing sweets and cakes in schools by students, saying that although it is not recommended, each and every school has its own rules as to how it operates and as to what students can and cannot bring to school.

Speaking about the possibility of offering the third jab of the vaccine to those who are under 18 years of age, Gauci explained that “although the EMA announced that this jab can be given to those who are between 12 to 17 years of age, the Maltese health authorities found that this cohort was not at risk as it is, so it felt that it was not necessary to offer the third jab at this stage. The situation will continue being monitored.”