From 14 July English language schools to be closed, only vaccinated people allowed into Malta - Fearne

As from Wednesday, only people with a recognised vaccine certificate will be allowed to travel to Malta, while foreign language schools will be closed down again, Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne said on Friday.

He was addressing a press conference, together with public health chief Charmaine Gauci, amid a new spike in Covid-19 cases – 55 on Thursday, going up to 96 on Friday. The number of active cases now stands at 252.

Fearne said most of the new cases are related to travelling, with the majority of patients being unvaccinated tourists and language school students.

The authorities have found positive cases in 9 language schools so far. This can be of risk to the community, particularly for people who have not yet been vaccinated, he said.

“We have always said that the relaxation of measures would be gradual, allowing us to adjust according to the situation. Therefore, from Wednesday 14 July we will have to close down English language schools. On the same day, all those coming to Malta will require a recognised vaccine certificate. The negative PCR test will not be enough. We will be the first EU Member State to take this protective measure,” Fearne said.

Children travelling with vaccinated parents will need a negative PCR test. Children under the age of 5 do not need one. Unaccompanied minors are not allowed to travel to Malta.

For now, the easing of other measures will remain unchanged.

“We are witnessing in this country that the vast majority – around 90% of positive cases – are unvaccinated people. This confirms that those who are not vaccinated are at risk of contracting Covid-19.” That being said, Fearne remarked that the increase in Covid-19 cases is not endemic to Malta.

Up until yesterday, the authorities had given over 700,000 doses of the vaccine.

84% of adults have taken at least the first dose, while 79% are fully vaccinated. Our target is to have 85% of our adults fully vaccinated in the coming days, he said.

There are currently three Covid-19 patients in hospital. Before the vaccine, around 15 to 20% of positive patients would require hospital care. With the vaccine, that number has gone down to 2-3%.

“A number of people have been fully vaccinated for several months now, and we will be seeing if they will need to be given a booster shot. We have the resources to do that,” he said.

Gauci said most of the new cases were people aged between 15 and 30. There was a relatively large cluster at one particular language school, she said.

Gauci said that 12 of the new cases were people who were fully vaccinated. There are currently 7 active Delta variant cases in Malta.

Fielding questions, Fearne said enforcement will be stepped up but there is only so much the authorities can do and all citizens have their own responsibilities.

The police will also beef up their presence on the streets on Sunday, when England play against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Once again, he appealed for responsibility and solidarity.

Asked about the blow that would be dealt to language schools, Fearne said such a measure is needed as the priority is to safeguard the health of those Maltese who have not yet received the vaccine.

Fearne said that the decisions are based on science and realtime developments.

He remarked that some sacrifices need to be made. “If we don’t do certain things, we could lose everything.”