LOCAL NEWS

Press Conference by Health Superintendent (29th March, 1230 hrs)

Two new cases were identified from a  record number of 585 swabs  taken. Health Superintendent Prof Gauci re-iterated the fact that Malta is at the beginning of its curve and the population should not rest on these results. Another person was admitted to ITU, with five persons currently being hospitalised in this unit.

The first person, a Maltese woman, was in contact with a relative who had travelled back from the UK. This person had immediately self-quarantined and no further contact with other persons was indicated.

The other person is a 39-year old Maltese man who was in contact on his place of work with a person who had travelled and who had earlier displayed symptoms. The relative contact tracing is taking place.

Comments by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Adrian Delia

This morning, Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Adrian Delia traded blows on the backtracking of decisions related to elderly and vulnerable persons’ lock down.

Prime Minister Abela denied any rift with Health Minister Chris Fearne, suggesting that the changes announced on Friday were a result of feedback whereby Government had listened to the general public. He also resisted claims that these decisions tantamount to a lockdown, confirming that people can go out in case of urgent needs and necessities. Speaking on ONE Television, the Labour leader reminded viewers that as long as the authorities’ advice was followed, there will not be the need for a complete lockdown, which actually would be counterproductive.

On his part, Adrian Delia called on Government to avoid populist decisions to appease economic operators. He insisted that there should be no backtracking on decisions related to health just because they might not be popular.

Legal notice on protection of vulnerable persons in Malta published

In  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  by  article  27(c)  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  the Superintendent of Public Health has made the following order:-

• The Superintendent of Public Health, as a measure to reduce, remove or eliminate the threat to public health, hereby orders that those categories of persons specifically listed in sub-article (2), hereinafter referred to as ‘vulnerable persons’, are to remain segregated in their residence
• The applicability of this measure shall be limited to the following vulnerable persons:
  • persons of sixty-five (65) years of age or over;
  • pregnant women;
  • persons suffering from the following chronic illnesses and, or medical conditions: (i) insulin dependent diabetics;
• patients who are immunosuppressed;
• patients undergoing any immunosuppressive treatment including but not limited to the use of biological agents and immunomodulators;
• patients suffering from cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy;
• patients  suffering,   or   who   have   suffered,   from   cancer   having   undergone chemotherapy at any time within the last six

(6) months preceding the entry into force of this order;

• patients on dialysis; B 762 (vii) patients who are to be admitted to hospital with respiratory problem exacerbations;
• patients who, at any time within the last year preceding the entry into force of this order, have been admitted to hospital with respiratory problem exacerbations;
• patients suffering from cardiac disease who are to undergo a cardiac intervention or a cardiac surgical procedure;
• patients suffering, or who have suffered, from cardiac disease having undergone a cardiac intervention or a cardiac surgical procedure at any time during the last six (6) months preceding the entry into force of this order;
• patients attending a heart failure clinic; and (xii) patients on oral steroids: Provided that for the purposes of this order, any person who satisfies paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) and who occupies a public office, is a Member of Parliament, employed in the health services sector or is a healthcare professional, and, or, who occupies an essential headship position, shall be exempt from this measure unless that person chooses otherwise.
• This measure shall not apply in the event that the vulnerable persons need to leave their residence to attend medical appointments, obtain medical care or treatment, acquire food, medicine, other daily necessities, or to attend to any other essential or urgent personal matter: Provided that the vulnerable persons shall limit the period outdoors to the least time possible and shall at all times exercise social distancing
• The Superintendent of Public Health may, in her absolute discretion, exempt from this measure any vulnerable persons or category of vulnerable persons mentioned in sub-article (2).

MEDIA COVERAGE 

Timesofmalta.com

Lockdown changes for the elderly on Friday followed ‘feedback’ – Abela

Prime Minister Robert Abela said Sunday that changes to COVID-19 measures for the elderly and the vulnerable, announced on Friday, had  followed unanimous Cabinet approval after ‘feedback’ from the public, and there was no rift with Health Minister Chris Fearne.

The government on Friday considerably eased the measures, which would have seen all those aged over 65 and anybody living with them, confined to their homes.

“When I heard criticism that we changed our position and that Fearne and me disagreed, I would have laughed had the issue not been so serious. These claims make no sense. We met on Wednesday and looked at a snapshot of the situation. We agreed on a number of measures and then had a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Police plan stronger street presence, with possible closure of some stations

Drastically increased police presence on the streets and the possible closure of police stations are among the measures in a contingency plan for the COVID-19 outbreak.

Parts of the plan are already being rolled out, with the police set to begin instructing the public to file any police reports remotely from Monday. For the time being, police stations will remain open.

According to an internal report circulated among officers in recent days, from Monday, all officers will begin urging the public to phone their local police station rather than go in person with any complaints or reports. This is being done to limit officers’ potential exposure to the virus.

Maltatoday

Adrian Delia: ‘Let’s not backtrack on COVID measures to appease economic sector’ Opposition Leader Adrian Delia criticised Prime Minister Robert Abela for retracting measures announced by health minister Chris Fearne and public health superintendent Charmaine Gauci on Thursday and said that such a move was populist and aimed to appease the economic sector.

“Let’s have the courage to not be populist just because certain economic sectors of society are in disagreement with the measures. We can’t simply change the directives of our health experts to be populist at this time. Let’s not backtrack on decisions just because they’re difficult,” Delia said.

“We’ve been introducing gradual measures which people can follow” – Abela

Partit Laburista leader Robert Abela said that he has vehemently resisted taking extreme measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. He explained that while he understands while some quarters have called for a lockdown, people would have had enough of following strict measures leading to non-cooperation from the public.

Speaking during an interview on the party’s station, Abela said that so far the majority of the population has adhered to the instructions being given by the health authorities.

Printed

The Sunday Times quotes Health Minister Chris Fearne who said that Malta was commended by the World Health Organisation for good practice in the handling of the outbreak. The paper says that cases in Malta are increasing ‘steadily but not steeply’.

Kullħadd says that coronavirus figures in Malta, so far, remain below the global average and encourages the public to keep following directives by authorities to restrict the spread of the virus as much as possible.

The Independent on Sunday reports than a 72-year-old man who tested positive for Covid-19 is in critical condition. The patient was in the last group of people to have been swabbed as registered cases in Malta now stand at 149.

Il-Mument quotes Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci who reported that there are now three Covid-19 patients in intensive care. A woman aged 60, a man aged 70 and another aged 72 are on ventilator.

Illum says that by the end of 2018, there was more than €1.1 billion in outstanding employers tax and national insurance to be collected, while the state still had to recover some €2.7 billion in VAT from the self-employed dating back from 1998.

The Sunday Times reports that police stations are expected to be closed down while the number of officers on the beat will be beefed up. The public is being encouraged to avoid visiting stations and contact the police by phone instead.

The Independent on Sunday says that Corradino Correctional Facilities introduced new measures against the spread of the virus. All visits have been banned and inmates can now speak to their families via video calls.

Malta Today says that the closing of schools until June is a sign that the country is heading towards a prolonged lockdown. Meanwhile, the Education Ministry said that O Level exams will not be held this year, and A Levels will be moved to September.

It-Torċa says that if the measures proposed by the Nationalist Party would increase government debt by eight percent. The paper argues that the burden on the economy would result in greater inequality.

Il-Mument quotes PN Leader Adrian Delia who appealed to the public to observe recommendations by the health authorities. He said that the wellbeing of people must come before political differences.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Spain to introduce stricter measures as country records 847 new Coronavirus deaths According to official figures released on Sunday by the Spanish Health Ministry, a total of 6,528 people in the country have now died from the coronavirus, with 838 new deaths in the last 24 hours. Registered infections of the SARS-CoV-2 virus now stand at 78,797, with 4,907 people in intensive care units (ICUs) across Spain. Some 14,709 patients have recovered from the Covid-19 disease and have been released from hospital care.

On Sunday morning, the Cabinet meeting at which this new plan is due to be approved got underway. Opposition parties have said that they support the stricter measures, but criticised the government for its response to the crisis.

Pope Francis calls for immediate global ceasefire

In words following the recitation of the Marian Prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis highlighted an appeal launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres this week calling for an ‘immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world’, amidst the current Covid-19 pandemic.

From the Library of the Apostolic Palace, the Pope said he joined all those who had made this call and he invited everyone “to follow it up by ceasing all forms of hostilities, encouraging the creation of corridors for humanitarian aid, openness to diplomacy, and attention to those who find themselves in situations of vulnerability.”

“May our joint fight against the pandemic bring everyone to recognize the great need to reinforce brotherly and sisterly bonds as members of one human family”, the Pope said.

“In particular, may it inspire a renewed commitment to overcome rivalries among leaders of nations and those parties involved. Conflicts are not resolved through war.”

EU Corner

EU to revise blueprint for 2021-2027 budget

The European Commission will propose changes to its blueprint for the EU’s 2021-2027 budget to address the coronavirus crisis, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Saturday night.

“To ensure recovery the Commission will propose changes in the MFF [Multiannual Financial Framework] proposal that will allow to address the fallout of the coronavirus crisis,” von der Leyen said. “This will include a stimulus package that will ensure that cohesion within the Union is maintained through solidarity and responsibility.”

The European Central Bank has ordered eurozone banks to freeze dividend payments and share buybacks this year in an escalation of its efforts to avoid coronavirus triggering a credit crunch in Europe. The move is expected to result in many of the region’s largest banks either cancelling or delaying plans to return billions of euros of excess capital to investors. The ECB said banks “should not pay dividends for the financial years 2019 and 2020 until at least 1 October 2020”. It added that they should “refrain from share buybacks aimed at remunerating shareholders”.

More News:

For a Fact-Checked Aggregated Service of CoVid-19 related information, please visit: https://corporatedispatch.com/category/coronavirus/

Additional info

Helplines

111 – For those who feel symptoms of COVID-19 or who wish further information

21411 411 – For those in mandatory quarantine who require provisions of food and medicine

1772 – For those who are feeling lonely.

153 – For those who require information about the financial measures administered by the Department for Social Security.

144 – For those who require information about the financial measures administered by Malta Enterprise.

2204 2200 – For Maltese residents who were caught in one of the high-risk countries and wish to return to Malta

25981000 – For those who have questions about the educational sector and the impact of the coronavirus

21692447–  For  hoteliers  and  tourists  who  have  questions  about  the  announced measures.

25903030 – For elderly persons bereft of support who need medicines, ready-made meals or food products (fruit and vegetables).

25469111 – For those who work in the gaming industry.

This daily update bulletin is being compiled for the Chamber of Advocates by CI Consulta from Corporate ID Group. CI Consulta delivers policy research and analysis, evaluations and impact assessments up to policy implementation and integration.