1745- Latest News update
Times of Malta says the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has urged Maltese citizens in Ukraine to “take the first available flight back to Malta” amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion.
MaltaToday says two men have been remanded in custody on drug trafficking charges after they were arrested by police officers who tailed them to Żebbuġ from Sicily and discovered 34kg of cannabis, worth some €700,000.
Newsbook says Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri took Gozo Channel management to task for the long queue of cars waiting to board a Gozo-bound ferry on Wednesday, insisting that the company should have been well-prepared for such an eventuality.
TVM says that a 28-year-old man has been cleared from all charges that he had stolen from a hotel in Paceville, even though he had pleaded guilty to the crime in Court.
Updated 1330
Tourism still below 50% of pandemic levels: Tourism is still a long way from reaching pre-pandemic levels, with arrivals in December totalling 75,738. These numbers represent a stark improvement on December 2020 when a mere 12,940 had arrived in Malta, but is still less than half the arrivals in December 2019, before the pandemic left its impact. The NSO, in data published today, said that 775,189 nights were spent by visitors in Malta in December with the largest share of tourists were those aged between 25-44 (41.4%), followed by those aged 45-64 (28.85). French, German and Italian nationals represented more than a third of the total.
No more vaccine certificates for bars and gyms: A vaccine certificate will no longer be required as from today for entry into bars, gyms, pools, spas, cinemas, and theatres. The requirement had been dropped for restaurants a week before. This follows new directives announced by DPM Chris Fearne last January. Another change coming into effect today is a reduction in quarantine, from 14 to 10 days, required for passengers coming to Malta from dark red zone countries who are in possession of a valid vaccine certificate.
Covid-19 Update: 72 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Monday, with 121 new recoveries. There are now 1,628 active cases. Three other men passed away overnight, aged 39, 92 and 103.
Morning Briefing
Free IVF medicine until June
Couples undergoing IVF will be receiving a government grant to cover all medicine expenses incurred after January 2022, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced. Government will be refunding expenses relating to IVF medication through a grant for all couples. This scheme is backdated to 1 January, and will remain in place until new medicine arrived in June this year. (Maltatoday)
Calls for investigation on Ministerial visits in classes
The Commissioner for Children Antoinette Vassallo said the presence of two government ministers in a state school does not fall under her remit. She was replying to a complaint by independent candidate Arnold Cassola who asked why environment minister Aaron Farrugia and education minister Clifton Grima were allowed into classrooms and address pupils on a new government scheme. “For two whole years, parents were not allowed in, however, two ministers, who do not have any children at this school, were allowed into the classrooms full of young pupils, during an unofficial electoral campaign,” Cassola wrote in his letter. In view of this response, Cassola asked the Public Health Commissioner to investigate. (Newsbook)
Covid Update
Four people died with Covid-19 on Sunday. Two of the latest victims were women aged 77 and 83 and the other two were men aged 65 and 66. The total number of deaths now stands at 589. 116 new cases were registered on Sunday, while 207 people recovered from the virus. The number of active cases has dropped to 1,680. 57 patients at Mater Dei Hospital are Covid positive, four of whom are in the ITU.
via Reuters
