Health Superintendent expects mask-free Summer / Malta News Briefing – Wednesday 13 April 2022

1745- Latest News update

Times of Malta says a company linked to an alleged kidnapper with ties to the prime minister has been awarded a government tender to the tune of nearly €250,000. 

MaltaToday says newly elected Labour MPs Rebecca Buttigieg and Alicia Bugeja Said will be sworn in as parliamentary secretaries on Thursday

Newsbook says the hunting of turtle doves has been put on hold and will not commence on Sunday 17 April after a court upheld BirdLife Malta’s request and provisionally issued a warrant of prohibitory injunction.

TVM says the labour market has continued to register an increase in the number of full-time and part-time workers and a reduction in the number of unemployed.

Updated 1330

Health Superintendent expects mask-free Summer: Prof Charmaine Gauci, superintendent of public health, said that Malta will likely enjoy a mask-free summer, though fully removing mask mandates will ultimately depend on the number of new COVID-19 cases and patients in hospital. “We hope that they can be removed soon, as cases keep going down,” she said. She said that after an increase in cases related to a particular strain of the Omicron variant, the positivity rate was back down to 16%. (Times of Malta)

Alleged kidnapper wins Transport Malta vehicle tender: Princess Operations, owned by Christian Borg, was officially awarded a 41-vehicle tender by Transport Malta on Tuesday. Borg was in the news earlier this year after being arrested with four other men and charged with the abduction and assault of the man, threatening to have his fingers cut off and his sister raped. The TM tender CT2199/2020 for lease of 38 low emission motor vehicles, one crew/cargo van and two self-drive vans. (Maltatoday)

Woman fighting for life after car accident
A 34-year-old woman from Santa Venera was left fighting for her life after she was hit by a car on Tuesday night.
The incident happened at 9pm on Marsa-Ħamrun bypass, when the pedestrian was hit by a car being driven by a 30-year-old man from Birkirkara. (Newsbook)

Covid-19 Update: Covid-19 cases declined after Malta reported 408 new cases and 702 recoveries overnight. Two people died, taking the tally to 669 according to authorities.

Morning Briefing

Russian oligarch’s superyacht on its way to Malta

An $85 million Malta-flagged superyacht linked to a Russian oligarch is reportedly directed to Malta after dockers in Norway refused to refuel it for six weeks. The Times of Malta, quoting The Marine Traffic website, says that the Ragnar, a 224-foot superyacht, departed Narvik in Norway on March 30 and is sailing towards Marsaxlokk. It is estimated to arrive Friday afternoon.

Azzopardi says that the truth will show why his presence was uncomfortable

Jason Azzopardi has reacted to his failure to get elected to Parliament claiming that he was “isolated” by the party’s inner circles. On Facebook, he said that the casual election “brought the end to my 34 years of activism, at every level, within the Nationalist Party.” Azzopardi vowed to continue working for “truth and justice,” and said the truth will emerge on why he was attacked and why he was an uncomfortable presence, including for some within his own party.

Covid-19 Update

Malta has reported 659 new cases of Covid-19 while three people passed away on Tuesday. This has taken the active case tally to just under 9,000.The new cases were identified through 2,976 tests, representing a positivity rate of 14.7%