Emergency Alarm To Be Installed In St George Square Victoria, Gozo
St George’s Square in Victoria, Gozo will have an alarm system installed to notify merchants to move tables, chairs, and store displays to make room for emergency ambulances.
This decision comes after controversy sparked over the last years as businesses occupied the area in front of the basilica, creating obstacles for emergency responders.
The alarm would be installed and controlled by Gozo General Hospital with an alarm sounded in the event of an emergency.
The Archpriest of St George’s parish was one of the people that spoke up over “land grabbers” in the area and described the situation as “intolerable.” The idea to install the alarm system was proposed to Victoria’s local council by health authorities, including the CEO of Gozo General Hospital, according to mayor Brian Azzopardi.
The most recent incident in the area occurred around two months ago, when an elderly man had to be carried from the square on a stretcher after the ambulance could not reach the piazza.
The mayor confirmed to Times of Malta that the “temporary” solution was accepted by the council until the square’s space for these businesses is updated.
View this post on Instagram
In an interview with talk.mt, mayor Azzopardi reiterated his appeals for more enforcement, emphasising how the chairs and tables placed in the square were “illegal” and without permits.
“Our priority is also to enforce the law. If there was enforcement and respect towards the law, this measure (the alarm) would not be needed,” said Azzopardi.
In the case of an emergency, shops on Strada San Gużepp will also have to remove their displace to make way for ambulances to pass through the narrow road, according to Azzopardi.
So far, the council has not been informed of when the alarm would be installed.
READ NEXT: Man In Malta Among 158 Arrested In Major Europol Human Trafficking Operation
