Charmaine Gauci and her team of healthcare workers are being nominated for the European Citizens’ Prize by Malta’s six MEP delegates.

A month after Gauci ended her beloved COVID-19 press conferences and the Superintendent of Public Health is still receiving praise for her inspiration and efforts in dealing with the pandemic.

In a fitting gesture of appreciation to Malta’s healthcare workers, MEPs Miriam Dalli, Roberta Metsola, Alfred Sant, David Casa, Alex Agius Saliba and Josianne Cutajar have jointly nominated her for the prestigious European award.

“Professor Gauci’s inspirational leadership during the worst of the pandemic along with her team of dedicated professionals and so many volunteers, meant Malta and Gozo were able to respond to the pandemic, ‘flatten the curve’ and mitigate the spread of the contagion,” they said in a press release.

“Her open and straightforward communication style meant people were kept well informed of measures and what they need to do to keep safe.”

Gauci’s daily COVID-19 briefings were seen as a point of reference and hope during the tough times but ended as Malta began to register a decline in active cases at the beginning of this month.

The MEPs made it clear that this nomination was not for her alone but for Malta’s healthcare workforce as a whole who pulled us through the pandemic in a resilient fashion.

“Professor Gauci and her team have demonstrated the very best of Maltese and European values in advocating a science-based approach to healthcare and contagion containment measures. They are exceptional representatives of the capacity of Malta’s healthcare response to the pandemic and deserve to be recognised.”

The European Parliament has encouraged nominations for the award from people helping with the COVID-19 pandemic and we definitely see Gauci and her team deserving of this award.

Do you think Charmaine deserves the award? Let us know in the comments below