Update – MUT orders teachers strike –
The Malta Union of Teachers has ordered a two-day strike for educators in all State schools after emergency talks with government broke down this evening.
Union president Marco Bonnici said a request for teaching to go online until a thorough assessment of the COVID-19 situation is carried out by the health authorities following a post-holidays spike in cases was refused by Prime Minister Robert Abela. The union said it was warned that teachers will not be paid if they opted for online lessons.
Bonnici said following the government’s intransigence on the matter, the union declared an industrial dispute and ordered its members in those schools that will not be offering online teaching to go on a two-day strike.
The strike action is being supported by the Union for Professional Educators.
The emergency meeting with the Prime Minister, the Health Minister and the Education Minister was held on the eve of State schools reopening. The strike action leaves thousands of parents in the lurch with little time to make alternative arrangements.
The union had earlier warned it would order industrial action as it claimed the education authorities had ignored health advice to keep schools shut. MaltaToday
Updated 1331 – Additional restrictive measures could be on the cards: Fearne
Health Minister Chris Fearne warned that additional restrictive public health measures could be announced in the coming days if daily COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise. Addressing a press briefing this afternoon, Fearne linked the recent spike to three possible reasons.
These include climatic factors, with the virus spiking in colder temperatures, the new contagious strain of the virus, as well as the festive season which saw more people gather together.
Updated 1240 – 224 new cases of coronavirus
224 new case of coronavirus were reported in Malta, a record high for the island. These were identified from 3,365 tests, with 80 persons also recovering. Active cases have gone up again to 1,845. The past 24 hours also so one further fatality, a 72-year old man who contracted the virus on New Years’ Eve.
Teachers’ Union says health authorities advised against school re-opening
The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said in a statement that it was informed that the health authorities had advised the Education Ministry that schools should not open.
“This, in light of the increase in Covid-19 positive cases expected to be seen over the coming days. This information that reached the MUT over the past hours was confirmed by a number of different sources. It seems, however, that the education ministry ignored this advice and as such, the MUT feels that it needs to protect educators and students.”
The Union also threatened that “if this does not happen, the union will have no other road left except to issue instructions to its members later today.”
Restaurant where Paceville fight took place fined after ‘zero consideration for regulations’
A restaurant in which a 50-person brawl was sparked on New Year’s Eve has been ordered to stop operations and handed a hefty fine, Times of Malta reported. At least three people had to be treated in hospital after the huge fight that began at the Al Ustura restaurant and eventually spilled out onto the street.
A witness, who was injured by a glass bottle thrown across the room, said it had “zero consideration for any COVID regulations”.
The Malta Tourism Authority, which is the entity responsible for ensuring establishments comply with public health rules, said action had been taken.
“Based on the investigations that were carried out following the incident, an enforcement notice has been issued to the catering establishment to stop operations forthwith,” a spokesperson for the authority said yesterday.
Newspaper Review
Malta Today reports that former Rabat mayor Charles Azzopardi has submitted his nomination to contest the casual election to fill the seat vacated by Edward Scicluna. Azzopardi was rejected by the Labour Party in the 2019 local council elections.
L-Orizzont reports on a government announcement introducing a new wage supplement scheme. Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli said in a press conference that the scheme will be retroactive from October.
The Times says that the number of new Covid-19 cases rose to 158 on Tuesday, the highest since mid-November. Meanwhile, President George Vella urged everyone to ignore scaremongering before he was injected with the vaccine.
The Independent quotes Energy Minister Miriam Dalli who said that Malta is exploring the possibility of a hydrogen-ready pipeline from the mainland after the application for funding of the original gas pipeline project was rejected by the European Commission.
In-Nazzjon says that a statement by Health Minister Chris Fearne that Malta is expected to achieve herd immunity by the end of summer contradicts declarations by the Prime Minister, who said he expects the country to go back to normality by May.
The Times reports that the tourism authority has imposed an enforcement notice on the Paceville restaurant in which a mass brawl broke out on New Year’s Eve. The authority found that the business breached Covid-19 protocols.
The Independent follows a session of a Parliamentary Committee where government and opposition representatives disagreed over whether former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat should answer questions about a consultancy role given to Konrad Mizzi.
L-Orizzont publishes an interview with a Covid-19 patient who admitted that he had doubted the seriousness of the pandemic and refused to wear a face mask. The Italian, who is now using the ventilator, appealed to the public to avoid making his same mistake.
In-Nazzjon says that four people aged between 71 and 96 died from Covid-19 between Monday and Tuesday. There have been seven casualties since the start of the year, and 226 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Morning Briefing
President Vella receives Covid-19 vaccine
President George Vella received a COVID-19 vaccination yesterday afternoon. He received his first of two vaccine jabs by a healthcare worker, and is expected to receive a second dose in three weeks’ time.
Before receiving the jab, Vella, who is himself a doctor, appealed to the public to take the vaccine. He urged citizens to ignore “all the scaremongering” surrounding the vaccine.
“I am sure those spreading false information are only doing so to scare people. We would be stupid to refuse the one thing that can save us, based on things that are not true,” he said.
PN calls for a more efficient vaccine roll-out
The Nationalist Party said that the Government should be more efficient with the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out. In a statement, the PN said that after meeting with the Medical Association of Malta, it was clear that Prime Minister was taking people for a ride regarding their health by providing targets on vaccine inoculation which, it said, cannot be met.
The Nationalist Party added that what the Health Minister said today, that the immunity is expected to be reached towards the end of summer, contradicts the targets of the Prime Minister who seeks business as usual by May. In order for this to happen and we have normality by May, the Nationalist Party stated that over 5,000 vaccinations have to be given daily, when currently some 50 are given daily.
Covid-19 Update
The Health Department reported 158 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, with 74 recovering. The number of active cases has reached 1702. 2602 swab tests were carried out in the previous 24 hours.
The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 has reached 226.
New wage subsidy system announced
Newly-appointed Energy and Business Minister Miriam Dalli announced a new wage subsidy scheme which is based on the level of losses suffered by businesses as a result of COVID-19. Government’s assistance will be basedon VAT returns as compared to the same period in 2019.
The revised system will come into effect as of this month, with businesses performing better than before the crisis or suffering only minor losses (9% or less), no longer being eligible for the wage supplement.
CDE News
