EU prosecutor unable to find Malta anti-fraud bodies / Malta News Briefing – Thursday 21 April 2022

1745- Latest News update

Times of Malta says a woman escaped serious injury by inches after gale-force winds blew a door into her Xemxija home, sending shattered glass flying around her. 

MaltaToday says masks will no longer need to be worn in schools as of Monday when the new term starts.

Newsbook says Church schools have issued a statement encouraging the use of masks after the health authorities published their updated coronavirus guidelines for the education sector on Thursday.

TVM says Malta’s nominee to the European Court of Auditors, Dr George Hyzler, was approved today by MEPs in the European Parliament’s budget committee to serve as Maltese member of this European institution for the next six years.

Mid-Day Briefing

EU prosecutor unable to find Malta anti-fraud bodies: The EU’s chief prosecutor said she was unable to identify the institution in Malta responsible for detecting financial crimes, recalling how nobody could provide her with answers on fraud investigations during a visit to the island. On Wednesday, Laura Codruța Kövesi from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, raised concerns that Malta was only supporting her office with words and “not with facts”. “I visited Malta, I had meetings with the national authorities and after two days it was very difficult for me to identify the institution that is responsible to detect the crimes
because all of them said: “It’s not me, it’s them”.

Food prices sky-rocket as March inflation hits 4.5%, NSO figures show: Food prices sky-rocketed in March, pushing the annual inflation rate up to 4.5%, figures released by the National Statistics Office today show. The annual inflation last month stood at 4.5%, an increase from the 4.2% registered in February, according to the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. The annual rate compares inflation in a particular month with the same month of the previous year and could be influenced by one-off effects.

Covid-19 Update: Five people died as a total of 312 new cases were reported overnight. There are currently 5,780 known cases.

Schools seek clarifications on mask use after Easter

Church schools are in discussions with public health authorities on whether pupils and teachers must wear masks when schools reopen for the last term of the scholastic year. A number of schools have already indicated a requirement to wear masks, despite the health ministry suggesting that “the mandatory use of masks in educational settings has been removed as previously announced.” In April, health minister Chris Fearne announced that masks would no longer need to be worn in education settings, but guidelines last updated in December, still state that masks must be worn in schools. (Newsbook)

Collective effort needed on tourism – Minister

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo called for a “collective effort” tp ensure the tourism sector’s post-COVID recovery, insisting the authorities alone cannot solve the issue. Bartolo said tourists should be given a good experience “from the minute they land to the minute they leave”.
“Everyone needs to make an effort,” he said. “Success in tourism does not depend solely on the minister or the entities but on everyone.
“The pandemic changed the game and tourists are now more aware of what they need,” Bartolo said. (Times of Malta)

Covid-19 update: Coronavirus cases in Malta declined on Thursday, with 297 new infections reported overnight by health authorities. Data published online by the Superintendence of Public Health shows that two people died while COVID-positive but no information about those deaths has been given. Malta’s COVID-19 death toll has now reached 679. The active case tally stands at 6,244.