Tuesday, 29 November marks a thousand days since the first case of Covid-19 was registered in Malta.

It was on 7 March 2020 that the first case was announced, sending Malta into panic mode as so little was known about the virus at the time, except that it was highly contagious.

Nobody could have predicted that this virus would completely change the lives of people over the following weeks and months.

The pandemic feels far away now as Malta has returned to normality, but the virus is definitely still among us. There have been between 10 to 30 new cases registered every day over the past few months. As of Thursday, the total number of Covid-related deaths was 809.

Besides the elderly and vulnerable, most people are not bothered about the virus anymore. They have put it behind them and got on with their lives.

Nonetheless, some people are still suffering the consequences of the pandemic.

 

The new ‘normal’

There was fear in those initial stages. People flooded the supermarkets clearing the shelves of essentials, especially toilet paper.

There was a lot of criticism surrounding people’s selfish behaviour, but in those days the fear of the unknown was predominant.

In the following days, more cases were confirmed and travelling to five countries was banned. A two-week mandatory quarantine for people who came from the five countries affected by the travel ban was imposed.

On 12 March 2020, the first major measures were implemented – schools and child centres were closed for a week. Elderly and vulnerable people were being advised by the authorities to stay at home.

It was matter of days that mandatory quarantine was imposed on all travellers coming from abroad.

There was talk about a full lockdown being implemented, however, government kept countering this by saying that it would cause more harm.

In reaction, on 16 March, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the closure of bars, restaurants, clubs, cinemas and gyms. It later announced that schools were to remain closed and continue online and it remained like this until the end of the scholastic year.

Things were moving rapidly; it went from one or two new cases a day to more until Malta started registering double digits on 18 March. The total number of active cases kept rising and hit 105 on 23 March.

The virus had its effect on the economy too. On 18 March, government announced a €1.8bn package to aid businesses and safeguard employment. The package included €700m in tax deferrals and €900m in loan guarantees, among other things.

On 20 March, the country’s borders were shut, except for government-organised repatriation flights.

Eventually, public gatherings were banned along with non-essential shops being closed on 22 March.

A couple of days later government announced the first form of the wage supplement – full-time workers were to receive €800 a month in certain economic sectors.

Towards the end of the first month of Covid, government declared a public health emergency on 1 April.

The first month ended with a total number of 293 registered cases.

Many spent their days at home working and studying. Surreal apocalyptic images of empty roads started to be shared.

On 8 April, after a month, the first Covid-related death was registered. The victim was a 92-year-old Gozitan woman.

This news shocked the island and confirmed the real danger of the virus. In just over a month, people’s lives completely shifted.

 

Covid is here for the long run

In the early days of May 2020, there was the first relaxation of restrictive measures. Travel between Malta and Gozo was relaxed in response to previous stricter measures. Also, some shops were allowed to reopen. However, the mandatory wearing of masks indoors and on public transport was imposed.

This and other incidents were condemned by a number of people who were sacrificing a lot by staying inside to protect themselves and others.

As the borders were closed, Malta was not allowed to let anyone in. Therefore, when Malta rescued a group of migrants it paid off charter cruise ships to accommodate rescued migrants out at sea.

Multiple NGOs spoke up against this action, arguing that it was a violation of human rights.

Even the football season was cut short. On 25 May Floriana were declared football champions and the supporters took to the streets in large numbers to celebrate their win. They were criticised for their behaviour.

When the numbers dropped it was thought that the worst was over. Restaurants, bars and gyms were allowed to open and sports restrictions were eased. Everything looked semi-under control and the Prime Minister in June even implied that Covid was behind us.

The public health emergency was removed and Malta’s borders reopened to certain countries on 1 July.

All of a sudden from being locked inside for most of the week, there was a strange shift towards some form of “normality”, which left a lot of people uncomfortable, while others were ready to indulge in the luxuries they were deprived of over the last months.

But the numbers soon climbed up again, with mass events taking the blame.

The Prime Minister continued to insist that Covid was under control as not many new cases were registered throughout July, up until the end of July, when numbers started to rise again. Active cases reached 699 on 20 August and the first Covid-related death since 30 May was registered on 21 August.

Restrictions were imposed on mass events and public gatherings in August.

In October more restrictions were imposed including the mandatory wearing of masks outdoors and also the closing of bars and clubs. The fight against the virus was far from over.

 

Hope and vaccines

Fitting the theme of the festive season, people were filled with hope around Christmas time as there was talk about a Covid vaccine.

On 28 December 2020, the first people started to get vaccinated. Healthcare workers were first, followed by the elderly and vulnerable later. The first vaccine to arrive was Pfizer.

On 10 January 2021, the first shipment of Moderna vaccines arrived in Malta and the first doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived on 7 February.

Government announced that it will allocate €1m to bar owners and clubs, which would later increase, as bars and clubs were shut on New Year’s Eve.

2021 started off with 1,512 active cases, 219 total deaths and anywhere between 100 to 200 new cases a day. However, people were hopeful that 2021 would be a better year than 2020, especially as the vaccine would be issued more widely.

The hope of a better year quickly died as restaurants were not allowed to open past 11pm and eventually were all closed along with cafés as Covid cases were still on the rise.

Marking a year since the first registered case in Malta on 6 March 2021, the total number of active cases was 3,403, and there had been 321 Covid-related deaths by that time.

On this day, history repeated itself as the supporters of Hamrun Spartans held a large gathering to celebrate their premier league win.

At the end of March 2021, government announced the extension of certain measures to support businesses and the reintroduction of the tax deferral scheme.

Things started to look up in April and May. Restrictions started to be eased as schools and child centres started to be reopened. Later non-essential shops and non-essential services were able to reopen and resume. On 10 May restaurants and cafés reopened and government published a timeline for the easing of Covid restrictions.

Malta’s vaccination strategy was in full swing and government announced that on 1 July 2021 it will relax its mask-wearing rules for people who were fully vaccinated.

Some anti-vaxxers were not happy about these new pro-vaccination measures, so they took to the streets of Valletta on 24 July to host a protest despite a lack of permission from the police.

At this point, it seemed like Malta was going to have a summer again as new cases dropped to single digits every day and active cases dropped to 23 at a point.

It announced that seated social and cultural events would be allowed to take place in July, capped at 100 people.

1 June marked the beginning of the vaccine certificates in the country. With this introduction, government started relaxing other measures. Later, from 1 July Malta started recognising and accepting the EU digital vaccine certificate.

On 7 June government also announced the second round of Covid vouchers.

 

The final Covid-19 spike

Once again, history repeated itself, as when measures began to ease and government tried to revitalise Malta’s summer, Covid cases skyrocketed in mid-July. There was a massive outbreak in English language schools which had to be shut down on 14 July.

As cases rose, deaths increased and news of the deadly Delta variant reached Malta, government announced that it was only accepting people with a valid vaccination certificate to enter the country.

Total active cases hit 2,294 on 25 July, and this began to decrease in August.

In September restrictions began to ease for fully vaccinated people. Also, the first booster shots started to be given to elderly care home residents.

Cases began to rise again around Christmas time 2021 and the country saw the first two cases of Omicron on 23 December. The booster shot also began to be administered more widely and it was announced that on 17 January of this year a valid vaccine certificate would be required to enter many establishments.

The end of December and the beginning of January saw the highest daily Covid numbers recorded in Malta.

1,298 new cases were registered on 28 December, 1,337 on 29 December, 1,353 on 30 December and the highest ever – 1,403 on 31 December.

The days with the most recorded Covid deaths were 20 January with six and 23 January with seven.

On New Year’s Eve, it was announced that schools will return online for a few days, until 10 January 2022.

 

Transition to normality

In January, government announced that mask-wearing restrictions for people who received the booster shot in groups of two outdoors, were no longer enforced. Restaurants would also be allowed to operate at full capacity. The decision was made as 70% of the population was soon expected to have received the booster.

At the beginning of February, Dr Fearne announced the “exit roadmap” which would gradually unwind restrictions. One of the first measures was allowing entry into restaurants, bars, gyms and others without needing a valid vaccine certificate. Government later also announced a number of quarantine period reductions.

Amid what seemed to be the final push towards normality, PM Abela announced the general election date on 20 February for 26 March. Measures had been eased just in time for the general election to take place in full swing.

On 2 May most of the Covid measures were lifted. Most notably, masks were no longer mandatory, except in hospitals, health clinics, elderly homes and flights. However, on 16 May the requirement to wear masks on a flight was lifted for most flights.

Although the life lived over the past two years is over, the pandemic has definitely left a significant effect on our mental health.

In April the Richmond Foundation said that it has experienced an alarming 1,045% surge in requests by youths with mental health issues since the start of the pandemic. For the general population, Richmond saw an increase of 800% in seeking mental health.

Also, the most suicides recorded since the start of 2017, came in 2021 when 34 people committed suicide. This year, up until September, there have been 19 suicides.

People have also had to deal with inflation which began due to the pandemic, mainly because of supply problems, and worsened due to the war in Ukraine.

New cases are still being reported, but the official figures may be lower than what is really happening, with people self-testing at home. The pandemic is not over, but we have learnt to live with it.

Still, caution needs to continue to be exercised.