Updated 1240
Just one Covid case: Only one person tested positive for COVID during the past 24 hours. The last time this reported was in the month of July, last year. This case was identified through 2,017 tests. With ten people recovering, the active case tally has now gone down to 180. No new deaths were reported.
Toly to invest EUR3m
Manufacturing company Toly Products Ltd is investing in sustainable operations as it starts to emerge from the pandemic induced slowdown. Toly, which has been receiving support from the Maltese government through the Wage Supplement administered by Malta Enterprise, confirmed that it has met its targeted goods sales in April and prospects are looking positive for the second part of the year. It is also planning to invest more than €3 million over the next four years to improve the sustainability of its operations.
Newspaper Review
The Independent speaks to President George Vella who declared his position against abortion and said that he would be left with no option but to resign if a law introducing abortion was passed for his signature.
L-Orizzont reports contrasting reactions to the Private Members’ Bill to decriminalise abortion tabled by MP Marlene Farrugia. Paediatrician Joseph Mizzi said that the right to live should be protected while lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic hailed the Bill an historic moment.
In-Nazzjon quotes Archbishop Charles Scicluna who raised concerns about abortion and said that the church is close to women in difficult situations. He questioned whether abortion is a step forward in fundamental rights.
The Times says that villages feasts will be cancelled for the second consecutive year to lower the risks of Covid-19 contagion. Health authorities are due to meet church officials to discuss the matter.
L-Orizzont says that the number of Covid-19 cases fell to 189 while no fatalities were recorded for the sixth day running on Thursday. Vaccinations have surpassed 400,000 with 272,000 people receiving both doses.
In-Nazzjon follows a public Q&A with Bernard Grech who, asked about LGBTQI+ rights, said that politics should start from the equality of persons. He said that personhood comes before ideas.
The Times reports that fighting between Israel and Palestine intensifies after an exchange of rockets fired in both directions. Meanwhile, street protests have expanded across the country and turned violent.
Morning Briefing
Medical bodies say cannabis affects brain maturation negatively
A number of medical organisations said that cannabis can affect brain maturation in a negative way. Regular cannabis use in youth and young adults, it said, can affect aspects of cognition, including attention, memory, processing speed, and overall intelligence. In a position paper, the Maltese Association of Psychiatry (MAP) warned that early regular use is associated with symptoms of psychosis and bipolar disorder in younger people.
However, the organisatons welcomed the government’s commitment to direct users to treatment rather than criminal justice.
In a separate statement, the Malta Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice stressed the importance of a distinction between medicinal and recreational use of cannabis saying that while medical use relied on professional assessment and monitoring, recreational use is unrestrained.
Govt left no one alone during pandemic – Abela
PM Robert Abela rejected claims that Government had run out of money, sayng that, to the contrary, in recent months has worked responsibly. Speaking on ONE Radio, the PM looked at a recent report by the European Commisson which estimates how this year the Maltese economy will grow by 4.6%, a which is substantially higher than forecasts made late last year.
The Prime Minister attributed this forecast to the decisions based on good governance taken by the Government and from the point of view of health, the strong vaccination rate. He recalled that the administration of more than 400,000 doses had now been exceeded.
Abela added that the Government had not chosen a policy of austerity and had not left the people to fend for themselves. “Prudence had dictated this Government did not leave anyone on their own, but rather, it had invested strongly in people”, he concluded.
Covid-19 Update
Just 4 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday while no new deaths were recorded. A total of 1,996 swab tests were carried out yesterday. 7 persons recovered, with the active case tally going down to 189. Authorities said that Malta’s Covid-19 infection rate is now the second lowest in Europe.
CDE News
