Updated 1245 – Mid-Day Briefing
Covid-19 Update: The number of active cases remained virtually unchanged (290) as new cases (25) and recoveries (24) balanced out each other on Friday. The number of patients in hospital increased to 11, with one remaining in ITU.
Social restrictions to be eased further: Health Minister Chris Fearne said that Malta’s Covid-19 situation was progressing well and health authorities were consequently reducing restrictions for vaccine-only public events. “The COVID-19 situation is under control, as currently we have 11 people receiving treatment for the virus in hospital, and one person in ITU. With this in mind, the country is in a position to further reduce restrictions,” Fearne said in a press briefing this morning, adding that there were no clusters in schools.
The key changes include an increased maximum capacity to 300 persons for seated events, increased ferry capacity and increased number of persons at event tables (from six to eight). Children under 12 will no longer need a negative test result to attend events.
Ombudsman declares promotions by former Police Commissioner as defective: Ombudsman Anthony Mifsud concluded that former police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar led a “defective” selection process for the promotion of assistant commissioners in 2016. The Ombudsman’s investigation has found that Cutajar, who had already been found to have led “a parody of a selection process” over the same appointments, selected people based on personal trust rather than experience and seniority. The Times of Malta reports that the case was filed by former superintendent Carmelo Bartolo, who has since resigned from the force as a result of this process. The Ombudsman also noted that it was “very worrying” that one of the people who was promoted to the role faced a series of disciplinary proceedings as well as a criminal case in which he was found guilty.
Time for an independent broadcaster -PN: The PN said that it was time for the national broadcaster to be independent of government. Speaking outside the Broadcasting Authority offices in Hamrun, Grech said that “the time has come for the broadcaster to no longer remain under a government department and to not fall under a minister’s remit,” he said. He argued that “the national broadcaster has not only failed to report certain news items but reported them incorrectly.” He condemned a recent decision by PBS to request journalists to submit the topics to be covered during programmes two weeks in advance.
Morning Briefing
Court rejects Govt efforts to stop teachers’ industrial action
A court has rejected Government’s authorities efforts to stop the two main teachers’ Unions, the MUT and UPE to launch an indsutrial action just before the start of the academic year. The issue had started from a last minute decision by authorities to redeploy peripatetic educators so as to plug a shortage of teachers in primary schools. The decision was given by Magistrate Neville Camilleri after submissions by lawyers representing the Ministry of Education and the MUT as well as the Union of Professional Educators. In a statement, the Nationalist Party said the Ministry of Education’s attempt at bullying teachers had backfired, wasting “precious time” to find a solution for students and teachers.
Maritime, aviation sectors to demerge from Transport Malta
The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects has set up a working group, led by Chief Judge Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, which will be working on the necessary changes from a legislative, administrative and industrial point of view in order to de-merge Transport Malta from being the main leading authority to three independent authorities responsible for aviation, maritime and land respectively, operating under a co-ordinated governance structure. Minister Ian Borg said that, “the government believes that the time has come for both the aviation and maritime sectors to have their respective authority, as well as land transportation. The national discussion on the metro and free public transport for everyone from next year is currently underway, and so we want to see that we have distinct authorities where the committee’s job will be to see that this is achieved. At the same time, I want to address all Transport Malta workers, so as to reassure them of their position, as I also believe that this step will be an opportunity for them to advance and progress further in their specific sectors.”
Covid-19 Update: 19 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, while 15 recovered. Nine virus patients currently requiring hospital treatment. One patient is in the ITU.
CDE News
