Health Minister Chris Fearne has encouraged shops to provide free masks to their customers ahead of their scheduled reopening on Monday.

“The government won’t provide masks to private outlets but perhaps it will be in their personal interest to gain a competitive advantage and provide masks themselves,” he said. “We don’t exclude that they will offer masks to customers themselves.”

He added that the government will keep providing free masks to people who enter Mater Dei.

As of Monday, several non-essential retail stores will be allowed to reopen under certain conditions, one of which is ensuring that everyone who enters the outlet wears a mask.

Superintendent of Public Health Prof. Charmaine Gauci said she will launch an information campaign on social media later on today to guide people on what types of masks to wear and how to wear them.

“The point of these masks is for infected people not to pass the virus to others,” she explained. “It’s important not to touch your face when wearing these masks because if your hand picks up the virus from a surface and then touches your face, it would aggravate the situation.”