Mater Dei is “full to the brink” and approaching breaking point, the Medical Association of Malta has warned.

In light of this, a weekend curfew should be rolled out alongside “more serious and effective enforcement”.

“MAM recommends a nine o’clock curfew from Friday to Sunday for a period of at least two weeks, and scaling up enforcement on non-compliant establishments in particular hotspots such as Paceville and Bugibba. Such a curfew should also be in force on the two days following Carnival Sunday.”

Saying they were “seriously preoccupied with persistent high daily numbers of COVID-19 patients which average above 150 a day,” they noted that vaccinations being rolled out across the island was “encouraging,” though it shouldn’t give the island a false sense of security,” they said in a statement today.

“As a result Mater Dei hospital, in particular medical wards, and the intensive care unit, may soon reach a breaking point.”

Warning that the hospital will soon not be able to handle the flow of patients, they also noted that contact tracing was “lagging by several days, rendering it ineffective”.

Advising against a total lockdown, they urged the weekend curfew to be put in place since “a minority of people chose to have a good time and ignored preventive measures between Christmas to New Year causing the number of daily cases to rise sharply by four times for a period of a few weeks”.

“MAM has repeatedly warned that daily rates should be kept below 100 per day, otherwise the healthcare system might not cope with load. That point is now dangerously close.”

Do you think a weekend curfew should be rolled out in Malta?