Malta will amend its mandatory mask legal notice to clarify that people can eat and smoke outdoors, but only if they’re not walking. 

Drinking will also be allowed outdoors at all times.

In place since October, the legal notice provides an exemption for mask-wearing in a limited number of cases, including when eating while seated at an establishment.

However, with restaurants now closed a number of people discovered over the weekend that this provision didn’t apply if you’re seated at a picnic.

A spokesperson for the Health Ministry now confirmed with Lovin Malta that the legal notice will now be updated. 

“Following the measures announced last Thursday where establishments can only serve food on a takeaway basis, the legal notice is being adjusted to cater for the temporary removal of masks during the consumption of food or drinks in public places,” the spokesperson said.

“It must be stated that this has always been the spirit of the law, in fact on previous occasions it was already clarified that a mask could be taken off when smoking a lit tobacco product.”

“It must be made clear that the temporary removal of face masks shall not be permissible if a person is eating or smoking whilst walking.”

What do you make of this announcement?