Decisive action with no half measures to protect the Maltese people is expected

MAM is genuinely pre-occupied by the statements of the Prime Minister who does not appear to fully comprehend the gravity of the situation for public health and the economy. Particularly worrisome are misleading comments which have no basis in science, but have been repeated ad nauseam by the tourism industry.

It is blatantly untrue that Malta has the lowest number of cases. On the contrary, it has the highest number of new cases in the last two weeks per population in the EU, even after excluding migrants arriving by boat. While there were no deaths to date, as deaths lag three to six weeks after turning positive, this fact does not afford much re-assurance.

While the quoted data on swabbing was statistically correct, the reason for swabbing is to control the epidemic, by identifying contacts and isolating them to prevent spread. Swabbing decreases rather than increases numbers during an epidemic.

The statement that more people die of influenza is of no consolation to anybody, however, every individual in Malta has access to a vaccine making the comparison of influenza with COVID a total nonsense.

Furthermore, while the Prime Minister was on holiday in Sicily, three patients were in intensive care, 40 hospitalized, with 11 new cases in care homes. Vulnerable patients must be protected at all costs.

MAM has made it clear that there is no place at all for discos, bars, parties on land or at sea or any gathering of any kind for more than 10 standing people, during the peak of an epidemic and these should be closed and/or forbidden with immediate effect. Furthermore, mask wearing and social distancing must be made compulsory and enforced emphatically, preferably by the police if we want the cases to decrease.

All Maltese citizens returning from abroad should be requested to swab or quarantine on arrival, while tourists should be obliged to swab 72 hours before visiting the island. This should be to and from all destinations as we should err on the side of caution and not on the side of profit.

MAM will have to re-activate all its directives if government measures fall short of its expectations.

This statement was issued before Deputy Prime Minister Fearne's press conference on Monday