Next few weeks ‘crucial’, but not everyone is following social distancing rules

The next couple of weeks are “crucial” to slow down the spread of the coronavirus and everyone should follow social distancing rules, Prime Minister Robert Abela said yesterday.

Speaking on party media, Abela said the government has been praised by the World Health Organisation for the way it has acted to slow down the spread of COVID-19. This was a “certificate of excellence,” he said.

This proved that the government has acted in a prudent manner, without resorting to drastic measures right from the start. “While some had pressured the government to shut down the country to the outside world, we acted on scientific and medical advice. We were told that that was not the time for such measures,” the PM said.

He said that, if people are forced to stay inside for a long time, they might become less compliant.

Abela said, however, that he is worried that some individuals are not following the recommendations issued by the health authorities. “Just this morning, on my way to this interview, I saw people standing too close to each other. At the end of the day this is about how much people obey instructions.”

Abela said the coming two to three weeks are crucial. “If we do not follow the rules we will suffer.”

Referring to the restrictive measures announced on Thursday and which were revised on Friday, the PM insisted that this was not a result of disagreement between him and the Deputy PM, as the PN has claimed.

“This talk of backtracking and infighting does not make sense. Chris (Fearne) and I met with health experts on Wednesday and unanimously agreed on the next steps. The measures were announced by the Deputy PM on Thursday. We then heard people’s reactions, discussed these in Cabinet in another meeting on

Friday and then fine-tuned the measures to reflect people’s realities.”

Abela said this is the way this government has chosen to act – it announces measures, listens to feedback and then drafts the legal notice accordingly. “This is, after all, an unprecedented situation. We want people to listen to us, but we are listening to them too.”

This is not the time for partisan politics, the PM said. “We are constantly being updated by the experts and taking measures accordingly, so if we introduce new measures next week it does not mean that we are disagreeing with each other, it means that we are acting according to a chancing scenario. We are taking major decisions all the time.”

Turning to the economic measures, Abela said the government had drafted these measures in line with its socialist values. “We focused firstly on those who are on a minimum wage. The government will be giving them more than they earned before, a three percent increase. To give some context, social measures cost the country €46 million a year. This package will cost us €70 million a month.”

Abela said 60,000 people will receive €800 a month. Another 50,000 will have one day’s salary a week paid by government, and this could increase to two days.

“This is not only an ambitious package, but an aggressive one too. These are costed measures and we will not be dismantling the war chest we have to fight the battle against the virus, and which will be used if the effects of the pandemic last longer than we expect. I am proud of what we have done so far, and we will be doing more. We will be even more generous and launch new schemes to help our businesses.”

The government, he said, will ensure that there is no abuse and that all stakeholders play their part. He also noted that many businesses had adapted to the new situation and said this is the model we need to keep following in the coming months.

Abela also noted that the COVID19 situation has led the Maltese to “reset” their basic principles, such as family and health.