The Malta Tourism Authority has issued a statement to clarify a new legal notice which allowed bars and ka?ins to remain open as long as they serve a packet of crisps.

“The emphasis is on the concept of a customer sitting at a table and not walking around, with relative social distancing in place,” the MTA said in a press release.

A new legal directive that closed nightclubs and discos in light of the COVID-19 pandemic also allowed bars to remain if they served food.

The legal directive also claimed that “crisps” can be considered food which was perceived by many as a loophole waiting to be abused.

However, the MTA has clarified that this guideline is in place not for people to abuse the law but to ensure that social distancing is met by keeping people on a table.

“The definition of the food served at a bar or ka?in… should be interpreted in the spirit of reasonableness and common sense. For one to bypass the law and distort the regulation at the expense of people’s health is not acceptable”

“The authority continues to emphasise responsibility and discipline,” it ended.

The legal notice comes into effect today and also includes a 15-person limit and the mandatory wearing of facemasks in closed public spaces.

What do you make of the new legal notice? Let us know in the comments below