Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has refused to clarify whether outdoor cultural events can happen in Malta over summer.

Yesterday, Valletta Cultural Agency Charman Jason Micallef announced that public activities will not be allowed until at least September, prompting anger and ire online from the local arts and culture community.

When asked to clarify whether outdoor cultural events can take place over summer, Gauci refused to provide a direct response, instead referring to unseen assessments and criteria to public health decisions.

“We base our announcements according to an assessment and we need to take it step-by-step as we’ve always done,” she said.

“We have a set of criteria that we’re following to assess the situation and based on these criteria, we can see how to move forward”.

Although refusing to comment on whether outdoor cultural events may happen, Gauci emphasises that mass events will not take place and that the ban will be one of the last measures to be relinquished.

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