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Times of Malta reports that oil rigs towering over Grand harbour will be removed by end of April
MaltaToday reports that Increased job flexibility is required to enable workers with children to enjoy more quality time with their family, UĦM CEO Josef Vella said.
TVM reports that The Minister for Finance and Employment, Clyde Caruana has launched a process of consultation so that within another nine months, Malta will have a revised employment policy for the next seven years to continue contributing to economic growth and a better quality of life.
Newsbook reports that The Malta Union of Teachers and the Union of Professional Educators – Voice of The Workers, have welcomed the restrictive measures announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela but are not willing to negotiate changes to the scholastic calendar.
Updated 1256 – PM expresses wish for postponements of Carnival holidays
PM Robert Abela said that he had expressed his wish that Carnival holidays do not take place this February, to ensure that children do not end up in farmhouses or with their grandparents. He said that if this would be accepted, the holidays would be granted later in the year.
Updated 1240 – Covid-19 Update
Health authorities reported 193 new cases of coronavirus today, with 148 recoveries. These infections were identified from 3,323 swab tests.
The number of vaccine doses has increased to 22,371, of which 1,694 were second doses. Three patients died in the past 24 hours while Covid-19 positive. The victims were two men, aged 83 and 68 respectively, and an 86 year old woman.
UPDATED 1215
PM Abela announcing new Covid-19 measures
Live transcription of Press Conference
The arrival of the vaccine gives hope, said PM Robert Abela this afternoon. At a press conference from Castille, Abela said Government delivered its commitment to start vaccinating people by early 2021 – and actually did so towards the end of 2020. Not only, but Malta is leading the way in per capita vaccination across the European Union. He also noted Government’s incessant work to ensure the availability of a larger number of doses.
He reiterated that citizens need to continue to act responsibly. February needs to be different, Abela said, calling families to be responsible and businesses to make one further effort.
All Carnival activities will not be held. All restaurants are to close at 11pm. The prohibition on opening for bars and kazini remains applicable.
Between 11 and 17 February, temperatures will be taken for those boarding the Gozo Channel while LESA officials will ensure mask-wearing and social distancing, while the ferry services will operate at half-capacity.
The Prime Minister said that vouchers will be sent at the appropriate time, in consultation with health authorities and when people will be able to spend them liberally.He also said that Government will be doubling the assistance allocation for bars and kazini, from 1 to 2 million euro.
Abela insisted that Government remains steadfastly against any curfews which were having a huge social impact across Europe, but appealed for the public to respect the new and existent measures.
“Let’s enjoy life, our families, but with responsibilities”, Abela added.
Health Minister Chris Fearne added that the reason for restaurants to be asked to close at 11pm was that authorities were reporting a number of restaurants were operating as bars throughout the later hours.
He also attributed the increase in cases experienced towards the beginning of 2021 to the gathering of persons from different households during the festivities. This was the main reason behind the introduction of stricter enforcement by the Malta Tourism Authority on persons renting out collective accommodation to ensure that the maximum number of people staying in such places reflected that approved in the licence given to the same accommodation.
Newspaper Review
The Times leads with an announcement by Prime Minister Robert Abela that bars will remain closed in February. He indicated that new Covid-19 measures targeting Carnival weekend will also be introduced.
The Independent says that new aid packages for bar and club owners are expected to be announced in the coming days as the government cancels the re-opening date for a second time in order to limit Covid-19 infections.
Malta Today says that the Cabinet endorsed plans to buy 80,000 extra doses of the Moderna vaccine with a spend of €2 million. Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the government intends to increase backup doses to 270,000.
L-Orizzont follows a meeting of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development addressed by the Prime Minister. Speaking about governance, Robert Abela said that Malta has done everything it had to do ahead of the Moneyval assessment.
Malta Today reports that two priests in Gozo have been arrested on charges that they corrupted an altar boy. A statement by the Church’s safeguarding commission on Tuesday confirmed that it had provided the police with the details.
The Times quotes a police statement which said that it has gathered enough criminal evidence to proceed arraign two Gozitan priests on charges of corrupting and raping a minor. Magistrate Monica Vella will hear the case.
In-Nazzjon covers a meeting between the PN and the University Students Council on Tuesday. PN Leader Bernard Grech said that the experience of the pandemic will form young people today into better leaders.
The Independent says that Economy Minister Silvio Schembri was found in breach of ethics by the Standards Commissioner following a press release containing partisan comments issued through the Department of Information.
L-Orizzont quotes a recent study published in Germany which finds that the Covid-19 virus does not only attack the respiratory organs but the entire body, particularly the cardiovascular system.
In-Nazzjon quotes Opposition Leader Bernard Grech who said in parliament that the new Covid-19 variants are raising concern among people and called on the government to publish available information
Morning Briefing
Update 0730 – A 21-year-old man suffered serious injuries after falling off bastions in Mdina, the police said.
The accident took place at 7pm on Tuesday. In a statement the police said it was informed about a “man who was crying out for help” as he lay in a field. From investigations carried by the police, the man was reported to have fallen several storeys from the bastions in the area.
Government approves order for further 80,000 Moderna vaccines
Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that Government has approved the purchase of a further 80,000 vaccine doses from Moderna at a cost of €2 million. While addressing Parliament on Tuesday the PM also pointed out that yesterday a further 14,040 doses of the vaccine had been received from Pfizer/BioNTech.
He highlighted that throughout the EU, Malta is leading the way in the rate of vaccine inoculation. He added the Government is determined to intensify the vaccine roll-out in order to speed up the rate of economic recovery in the fastest time possible.
Referring to the virtual meeting of EU Council Members last Thursday, Dr Abela explained that among other matters, a vaccination certificate was discussed and EU Leaders had agreed that a “proof of vaccination” is needed and this should be the same in all countries.
Two priests to be arraigned this morning
Two priests are to be arraigned in Gozo this morning, standing accused of rape and child abuse. In a statement, the police said that the alleged victim was an altar boy and the abuse took place a number of years ago, the police said.
In a statement, the police said its vice squad had gathered enough evidence to proceeding criminally against the two Gozitan priests. The two were arrested on Monday night before they were interrogated for long hours at the police headquarters in Floriana.
The two men were named as Dun Joseph Sultana and Dun Joseph Cini. The case was first reported to the Curuia’s Safeguarding Commission, who handed over the information to the police.
Dr Carl Brincat appointed MGA CEO
Lawyer Dr Carl Brincat has been appointed as the new CEO of the Malta Gaming Authority. A statement issued by the Ministry for The Economy and Industry said that Dr Brincat was appointed after a rigourous selection process following a public call issued last month. Minister Silvio Schembri said the process strengthens the credibility and determination of the Authority in the promotion of transparency and transmits a clear message to gaming operators about the seriousness of Maltese Jurisdiction.
New restrictive measures expected in February
New measures intended to stop the acceleration of Covid-19 cases in Malta are expected in February, targeting particularly Carnival weekend, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Tuesday. While not specifying what such measures will be, Abela said that they will be relaxed by March.
He also revealed that bars “will remain closed” throughout next month, while announcing aid packages aimed at helping bar owners.
Covid-19 update
The Health Department reported 138 new cases of coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, with 128 recovering. The number of active cases has reached 2,640. 3,248 swab tests were carried out in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has reached 255.
CDE News
