Updated 0840 Newspaper Review
The Independent speaks with a spokesperson for the Tourism Ministry who said the government will seek to phase in air connections with a number of airlines, targeting a range of destinations and frequencies.
The Times reports that the Planning Authority has given a three-year extension to all development permits expiring between March last year and December 2022. A spokesperson said the decision would give ‘breathing space’ to some 20,000 permit holders.
L-Orizzont speaks to the head of the Foundation for Social Wellbeing Services, Alfred Grixti, who said the case of a seven-year-old child under care order who was abducted by a parent and taken out of the country is the first of its kind.
In-Nazzjon says that the Nationalist Party is proposing to lower the night tariff for the charging of electric vehicles by 20 percent. Party leader Bernard Grech said a PN government would rethink the home battery scheme to encourage wider adoption.
The Times quotes Finance Minister Clyde Caruana who said that the government will present a national plan to support Air Malta. He said the airline is losing around €170,000 a day just to operate its fleet.
L-Orizzont follows a political rally addressed by the Prime Minister on Sunday who said that the government’s measures during the pandemic gave families and businesses a needed boost and kept the country’s morale high.
The Independent quotes the Prime Minister who said he is expecting a ‘difficult’ summer in terms of migration. Robert Abela said the government is in talks with the Libyan authorities to limit crossings.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN Leader Bernard Grech who said that the party is turning a new page and delivering a message of hope for an alternative government. He said the party believes in the abilities of people, not their connections.
Morning Briefing
Prof Charmaine Gauci gets second jab
Public health superintendent Charmaine Gauci is encouraging the public to take the vaccine when invited to do so. “This is a safe and effective vaccine that has passed evaluations from the European Medicines Agency to be put on the market and distributed to all persons in Malta and Gozo” she wrote on Fecebook.
“I encourage everyone who was invited to take this vaccine to do so – it’s a vaccine that will prevent a lot of sickness around us, will prevent lots of people becoming hospitalised, and prevent a lot of deaths,” she said during a short video comment posted to her Facebook.
PM urges people to dream big, says some are seeking to undermine success
Prime Minister Robert Abela urged people to “dream big” saying the country’s successes should serve as an example to other countries. Speaking in Floriana, Abela said that his positivity is a not based on wishful thinking but rather on tangible results achieved by the country.
However, Abela remarked that there have been subtle campaigns throughout the pandemic to endanger the country’s success: “When we had no infections, people were creating back-handed campaigns so that people don’t leave their house, or don’t buy from local businesses. In fact, I would like to remind entrepreneurs of the amount of subtle campaigns that tried to force businesses onto their knees and paralyse the economy,” he said.
PN makes new energy proposals
The PN has continued to drum forward its green agenda and is proposing a 20% reduction in charging tariffs for electric vehicles, which will see the current rate of 13c go down to 10c5 per unit for night time charging.
Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said: “We will continue coming up with new proposals for the environment because our party is for the environment and we believe that it can be crucial for the future of our country,” Grech said in an address at Dar Centrali. “We want to help people who are looking to make the switch to electric vehicles and encourage those who already have.”
Grech also spoke at length on the situation at Air Malta, after the Finance Minister, Clyde Caruana, revealed how Air Malta is losing some €170,000 every day in operational losses. “Saving Air Malta is crucial – we have to make sure that tourists still have the best accessibility to our country when the pandemic passes, which will in turn continue to boost the tourism industry,” he said.
Covid-19 Update
138 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Sunday while 109 recovered. The health authorities also reported the death of three patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The Covid-19 r-factor will start going down as more people are being vaccinated against the virus, which means that fewer people will be at risk of becoming infected, statistician Vince Marmara told The Malta Independent, while pointing out that the rate is now at below 1. More than 48,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered so far. This means that around 6.5% of the population has received at least one dose. Around 3% have received two doses.
CDE News
