BREAKING: PM to address press conference at 12.15pm, new COVID measures expected

UPDATE: A raft of new COVID restrictions have officially been announced. Click here to read the full details.

EARLIER

Prime Minister Robert Abela, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne, and Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci will be addressing a press conference at 12.15pm on Thursday (today), with new COVID restrictions expected, as well as higher fines for non-observances of measures.

The first week of March marked a grim turning point as Malta continued to grapple with the ongoing ‘second wave’. Between 1st and 3rd March alone, Malta registered 584 new cases of COVID-19, with the total number of active cases reaching 3,000 on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Robert Abela on Wednesday ruled out the introduction of a lockdown, but said higher fines for non-observance of COVID restrictions and new measures would be issued “within hours”, however no announcement was made.

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne has touted the COVID-19 vaccine programme as a “circuit breaker” for the rising case figures.

Several industry bodies, such as the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, the Association of Catering Establishments, the SME Chamber, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses, the Medical Association of Malta and the Malta College of Pathologists have all called for stricter enforcement of current rules, with the Pathologists College calling for new measures such as the temporary closure of non-essential services.