Updated 1645 – Newsportal Review
Times of Malta says that Finland has become the latest country to announce restrictions on arrivals from Malta as coronavirus cases continue to surge.
Malta Today reports that police are verifying whether a home invasion on the Sliema home of the wealthy art collector Christian Pandolfino, 59, resulted in the theft of valuable items.
TVM reports that The Health Ministry has confirmed that another 47 new cases of Covid-19 have been identified in Malta, whilst 18 other persons have recovered.
Newsbook says that Entertainment news portal Variety has reported that Universal has decided to change its planned shooting schedule for Jurassic World: Dominion in Malta from a first unit crew to a second unit one, after numbers of people with coronavirus have risen.
The Malta Independent reports that The Broadcasting Authority (BA) will not back down from its decision to censor the questions made by journalists during a live press conference on state television.
Net News reports that police are searching for three people who were seen fleeing the residence on Locker Street in Sliema and allegedly killed doctors Chris Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski. They fled in a white vehicle.
One News says that no one was injured after 3 cars caught fire in Triq Ġuże Galea in Iklin.
Updated 1230 – Covid Update
48 new Covid-19 Cases were registered in Malta in the previous 24 hours. There were 18 persons who recovered. In the previous hours there were a total of 2,261 new swab tests.
Updated 0822 – Newspaper Review
Malta Today follows the testimony of family doctor Adrian Vella in the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech. Vella said that he was instructed by Keith Schembri to collect papers from his house and give them to Fenech after the businessman was arrested.
The Independent quotes Dr Adrian Vella who told the court that he acted as a go-between to transfer papers from Keith Schembri to Yorgen Fenech. Vella said that he handed the papers to Fenech’s lawyer, but the businessman snatched them immediately from his hands.
The Times reports that suspect Yorgen Fenech threatened to ‘bring everyone down with him’ after reading a document from Keith Schembri delivered by family doctor Adrian Vella. The doctor treated both men.
In-Nazzjon says that former chief of staff Keith Schembri had instructed family doctor Adrian Vella to delete his WhatsApp app before answering the door to the police. Vella said that the Police Commissioner at the time called him a liar when he was under interrogation.
L-Orizzont quotes General Workers Union secretary general Josef Bugeja who welcomed the safety measures introduced by the government on Monday, describing them as the right balance between health and the economy.
The Times says that police officers found the corpse of a dead man in a shaft of the former Paloma hotel in Buġibba, which houses migrants. Residents said the man had been dead for three days, but they were too scared to call authorities.
The Independent says that there are 648 active Covid-19 cases, excluding 105 migrants who tested positive and were immediately quarantined after they disembarked in Malta. The total number of registered infections since March is 1,423.
In-Nazzjon says that the coronavirus reproduction rate has risen to 2.5 as another 48 infections were recorded on Tuesday. Over 1,200 people are currently in quarantine while two patients are in intensive care.
The Times reports that a cluster of nine Covid-19 cases reported on Monday have been linked to homes for the elderly. Most of the other patients are relatives and close contacts of previously detected cases.
L-Orizzont reports that the EU is setting up a digital space for the secure sharing of trusted data. The Trusts projects will develop a platform for the exchange of GDPR-compliant data across member states.
Morning Briefing
Malta wakes up to another crime scene with two dead men found at a residence in Sliema, victims of a shooting which witnesses say happened around 10.30pm. This incident happened in Locker Street, close to Sliema Promenade.
A spokesperson for the police said that the identity of the victims is unknown while the perpetrators were still at large.
New restrictions come into force
New social restrictions come into force today following the recent spike of coronavirus cases in Malta. The main changes concern the closure of nightclubs and discos, with Government seemingly making a step back with regard to the closure of bars.
At first, Health Minister Chris Fearne implied that only those bars which were part of a restaurant and could serve food which would be allowed to open. However, the legal notice published yesterday states that” “Bars and każini are to only serve food, and drinks with food, and only to clients seated at tables”.
Meanwhile, the NSO reported yesterday that Maltese businesses lost more than 27% of their business during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Later, the Health Ministry told The Times of Malta that” “It is only nightclubs and discos that are closed,” his office said.
There were 48 new Coronavirus cases registered in Malta in the previous 24 hours. The cases follow 2124 swab tests. The Health Department said that a number of cases concerned homes of the elderly. Malta has a total of 1423 cases. Currently there are 648 active cases. 7 were reported to have recovered in the past 24 hours.
Malta launches amber list for travel
Government has announced the first three countries to be placed on a so-called amber list, which features Bulgaria, Romania and parts of Spain (Girona, Barcelona and Madrid). Travelers from these destinations will need to present a negative Covid-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours.
On the other hand, the Swiss authorities have placed Malta on the Alpine country’s quarantine list.
