Prime Minister announces new measures

Prime Minister Robert Abela has announced the extension of several measures and some new measures for the month of February, many of which target an expected influx of people going to Gozo over the carnival period.

Adressing the press conference yesterday, Abela said that he has been clear about the pandemic from the get-go: that dealing with a pandemic is a marathon which we must deal with day by day in such a manner that would preserve lives and livelihoods.

He said that this is a very particular moment – a moment where we are close to normality owing to the vaccination programme which is now ongoing and which Malta is in the lead on. He reiterated Tuesday’s announcement that 14,000 Pfizer vaccines arrived in the country on Monday, and that the government had green-lit the purchase of another 80,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

He appealed for responsibility from families and from businesses, saying that we cannot stop following restrictions now.

Abela announced a number of measures for February:

• All mass events related to Carnival have been cancelled.

• Restaurants will continue to close at 11pm, the closure of bars and clubs will be extended to the end of February, and restrictions related to snack bars will also be extended till the end of February.

• Between 11 and 17 February, temperature checks will be taken on all Gozo channel vessels.

• Passengers going onto the Gozo Channel vessels must remain in their cars for the duration of the trip.

• Gozo Channel vessels will run at half capacity, sending the clear signal that while Gozo is not closed, it is not the same atmosphere as usual.

• LESA officials will be onboard the vessels to enforce social distancing and mask wearing.

• There will be added patrols in Rabat (Gozo), Nadur, Marsalforn, and Xlendi, while Transport Malta will also be patrolling other localities. • The Malta Tourism Authority will be inspecting accommodation places to make sure that they adhere to the parameters set out in their licenses, especially with regards to the number of people inside the places. Accommodation places can only host as many people as they have beds specified on their license.

Abela also announced that the aid being given to bars and clubs will double from €1 million to €2.2 million. Details on this will be given by Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo by the end of this week, Abela said.