Afternoon Update
Covid-19 Update
Health authorities reported 167 new cases and 165 recoveries, leaving the number of active cases stable at 2,406. The numbers were identified through 2,217 swabs.
Two persons died in the past 24 hours, taking the death tally to 286.
James Barbara badly injured in crash
Timesofmalta.com reports that well-known catering entrepreneur James Barbara and his wife have been badly injured in a late-night car crash in Żejtun. Barbara, 50,w as driving a Lamborghini as he crashed into a house.
The businessman is known mostly for James Caterers Ltd, which he set up in in 1989 as a one-man business that gradually grew into one of the country’s largest catering groups.
Residence programme generates 20 million
Malta’s residence programme generated a direct income of €20 million last year during the pandemic and €50 million in less than five years since it has been managed by the agency which will now be known as Residenza Malta.
Mr Muscat said that under the residence programme, around 110 applications per month are being processed, and since the programme started, around 2,500 applications for permanent residency have been submitted. He added that an investment of €124 million on property has been made under this scheme and it has generated 426 new jobs, 136 of which are on a full-time basis.
Newspaper Review
The Times reports on concerns by health authorities over the temperature of the latest batch of AstraZeneca vaccines. Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the government is in talks with the company to ensure the doses were kept under the right conditions.
The Independent says that teachers and school staff are expected to start receiving the Covid-19 jab within six weeks, when the current cohort of vulnerable people is fully vaccinated.
Malta Today says that consultants who advised the Labour Party on its energy policy before the 2013 election were later appointed to the evaluation committees which selected the gas power station project.
In-Nazzjon follows a sitting of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee on Tuesday during which a senior Enemalta official testified that a number of people who attended a PL technical meeting in early 2013 ended up on the power station selection board.
L-Orizzont speaks to an activist who warns that a document published by the European Commission last year proposes access to messages sent over end-on-end encryption services, putting privacy at risk.
Malta Today reports that a sworn affidavit by a junior manager at the state broadcaster claimed that former CEO John Bundy had sexually harassed her. She also said that Bundy had forced her to hand him the minutes from the PBS board of directors.
The Times reports that a new legal notice published on Tuesday empowers tourism authority officials to inspect holiday rentals properties during the Carnival week and eject tenants in cases of overcrowding.
The Independent says that the police have denied claims that Julian Hofstra was offered legal immunity in exchange for information. The Dutchman is believed to have secretly recorded conversations with state witness Melvin Theuma.
In-Nazzjon says that a government scheme giving elderly people living on their own between €300 and €350, depending on their age, falls short of a PN proposal promising €500 to those over 75 years.
L-Orizzont reports that Trelleborg Malta was ordered by the Industrial Tribunal to compensate two former employees who claimed unfair dismissal. The employees were assisted by the General Workers Union.
Morning Briefing
Concerns on AstraZeneca vaccine
The health authorities are concerned about a temperature probe used in the consignment of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which arrived over the weekend and are clarifying if the doses can be used.
The consignment, the first from AstraZeneca, arrived over the weekend. Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the government cannot provide details of how many doses the consignment consisted of, but the concern involves the entire supply.
Police deny Hofstra story
The Police force denied a media report that they had offered immunity from prosecution to Julian Hofstra, a Dutchman who claims to have evidence on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
A report had alleged that the Dutch national was offered legal immunity in return for recordings of Melvin Theuma and information about his alleged links to former minister Konrad Mizzi.
The story was originally reported by The Malta Independent, who also claimed that Hofstra was keen to speak about his alleged involvement with Silvio Zammit – who was an aide to former European Commissioner John Dalli – and to former minister Konrad Mizzi.
Q3 sees slight economic improvement – CBM
During the third quarter of 2020 economic activity recovered somewhat as GDP expanded in quarter-on-quarter terms, the Central Bank said.
In particular, seasonally-adjusted data show that GDP rose by 7.4% during the third quarter, after contracting during the first two quarters of the year. This profile reflects a rebound in private consumption which was up by over a fifth over its second quarter trough.
Although the Review notes that economic activity levels improved during the quarter under review, they nevertheless remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Real GDP fell by 9.9% in annual terms in the third quarter of 2020, which is a more muted decline than that experienced in the second quarter – when GDP had contracted by 16.1%.
Covid-19 Update
New COVID-19 cases went up to 202 on Tuesday, the highest number of daily cases recorded this month. These numbers were identified from 3,206 swab tests over the previous 24 hours.
Two more fatalities took the death tally at 284.
CDE News
