Updated 1509 – “Current increase in cases due to more tests” – Abela
Prime Minister Robert Abela said this afternoon that the current increase in cases was due to more testing being carried out. He insisted that no serious cases were identified, re-iterating the message that the wards specifically allocated for Covid-19 were still empty.
Commenting on earlier comments by the teachers’ Union, Abela warned of “educational catastrophe” if students remained at home. The PM said that students must physically attend school not to end up with an educational crisis, which is why public health professionals are drawing up safety protocols.
Updated 1444 – Man involved in fraud case in 2013 brought to Malta
A man wanted by the police for fraud has been brought to Malta after having been arrested in France. The 35-year-old, hailing from Niger, was the third suspect in a €75,000 fraud case in 2013.
The police had been alerted when a Marsa jewellery dealer said €75,000 worth of gold he had bought from the men turned out to be fake. The exchange had taken place at a hotel in Gżira.
Updated 1402 – MUT raises possibility of schools not re-opening in September
Despite schools being roughly six weeks away from re-opening for the upcoming scholastic year, teachers and their unions are adamant that schools do not re-open if new and active COVID-19 cases reach higher levels by 28 September, MaltaToday reports.
The online portal quotes a spokesperson for the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) that if the situation remains unchanged, it could not see it plausible to reopen schools.
“If today were the end of September, with the current number of cases and reproduction number exceeding 1, I could not see it as a plausible scenario to open schools,” the union said.
Updated 1315 – PM lists five economic objectives
Good governance, economic growth, education, better infrastructure and carbon neutrality by 2050 are the five main pillars of government’s economic policy, Prime Minister Robert Abela said during a special Cabinet session held at the Malta Chamber,
“It is pointless achieving economic growth unless this translates to a higher quality of life,” the prime minister said.
Commenting on the recent spike of coronavirus in Malta, the Prime Minister insisted that these numbers are not a result of the decision to relax restrictions, particularly mass events. Rather he said, a number of mass events were cancelled, including those organised by the Malta Tourism Authority.
Updated 1236 – 29 new cases of coronavirus
The Health Department announced 29 new cases of coronavirus, with four people recovering in the past 24 hours. This means the number of active cases has risen to 440. In its daily update, the Department linked three cases to Mount Carmel Hospital and eight related to known clusters. More than 1,882 cases tests have been undertaken.
Meanwhile, Slovenia has joined a list of countries to restrict traveling from Malta. The country moved Malta from its green list to its yellow list, meaning arrivals will now have to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
Updated 0811 – Newspaper Review
In-Nazzjon says that an unnamed third candidate has expressed interest in the PN leadership, but their offer was refused because the individual is not a paid-up member of the party. Bernard Grech will now face incumbent Adrian Delia in a two-horse race.
The Independent says that PN leader Adrian Delia and challenger Bernard Grech will undergo a due diligence process after the call for applications for the party leadership closed on Monday. The paper says it may take up to six weeks.
The Times says that Opposition MP Ivan Bartolo has agreed to give up his seat for Bernard Grech if the challenger wins the PN leadership contest. Sources said that MP Hermann Schiavone would be prepared to do the same.
L-Orizzont reaches out to PN MP Hermann Schiavone who said that several representatives in the parliamentary group besides himself would be willing to give up their seat for Bernard Grech, if he wins the party leadership election.
The Times says that the police are investigating the leak of audio recordings that form part of the evidence in the Caruana Galizia case. Five short clips were posted on Reddit by an anonymous account that was created on Saturday.
The Independent speaks to the president of Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents, Iain Tonna, who said that people are, again, reluctant to travel following a rise on Covid-19 cases.
L-Orizzont quotes a national survey conducted last week which says that a majority of people named former PN MP Franco Debono as a possible party leader. The numbers, however, decline among people who have voted PN in the last elections.
In-Nazzjon reports that the number of active Covid-19 cases rose to 415 after 23 new infections were registered on Monday. The paper says that a prison warden is thought to have been among the latest patients.
Morning Briefing
Coronavirus in Malta
The resurgence in cases in Malta remained firmly on top of the agenda with the country’s Health Department reporting another 23 new cases during the previous 24 hours, taking the active tally to 415.
The Health Department said that 23 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours from 1618 tests. Meanwhile, Health Superintendent Prof Charmaine Gauci said that five people, relating to five different venues, have each been fined €3,000 for breaching the recently-published restrictions on mass events.
These fines relate to new rules which came into force last week, limiting people inside one venue to a maximum of 100 people indoors and 300 outside, though in any case not exceeding one person for every four square metres, capped at not more than 100 people indoors and 300 persons outside.
PN Leadership
Incumbent leader Adrian Delia and Bernard Grech will square off for the post of PN Leader after the PN Electoral Commission confirmed that these were the only two names submitted at the end of the relevant process. The Commission will now forward the names to a specially appointed Commission intended to carry out a due diligence on prospective candidates which would then trigger the formal race expected to climax in September.
Both candidates are not allowed to carry out any campaigning until their nomination is formally green-lighted.
CDE News
