Mask Wearing Rules For Malta’s School Children Set To Be Scrapped After Easter, Chris Fearne Confirms
Come Easter, we could start warming up to the sight of our schoolchildren attending class without wearing their masks.
The announcement came from Minister for Health Chris Fearne during the inauguration of a Raħal Ġdid Garden made in the honour of all those who’ve died while positive for the disease, in Malta.
“Our aim is to survey the situation during the Easter holidays. From what we are seeing, in the term that follows it will no longer be necessary for children to continue wearing masks in class,” Fearne said.
“Whoever wants to wear masks in class would do well, but these persons won’t be legally obliged to do so.”
Over the course of the coming week, talks will be also taking place between Maltese authorities and the country’s European partners over travel restrictions, particularly in the context of youths of age 12 to 17 years, who are due to have their vaccination status reach its end.
During these talks, all stakeholders will evaluate whether a negative PCR test would be sufficient to allow travel from country to country.
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“Our time in this pandemic came with many sacrifices, though without question worst of it came from persons who have gotten sick as a result of COVID-19. Those persons paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Fearne began.
“We would like to preserve their memory by inaugurating this garden in dedication to all the victims of COVID-19 in Malta.”
A little over two years have passed since the first reported case in Malta. The ensuing journey had seen several drastic measures take shape within the island – including the closure of the Airport, non-essential shops, gyms, and more.
It was a difficult period in Malta, with the government forced to invest in ITUs, ventilators, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), labs, professional training and of course, swabbing centres.
According to Fearne, there have been no less than 1,767,000 swabs issued from Malta’s very own COVID-19 centers.
Another initiative set out by the Government – the establishment of helplines 111 and 145, have received over 6 million telephone calls between them, to date.
“We didn’t stop there,” he added. “We went in with wage supplements and vouchers to incentivise shopping, help shop owners, and keep the country afloat during those trying times. Now the pandemic is in its final stages and the economy is poised to rise again.”
“Malta has been deemed the biggest ‘success story’ as far as our vaccination programs are concerned. By yesterday we have delivered 1,251,000 booster shots. Delegates of international health authorities have even termed Malta as a ‘champion’ as far as our strategy is concerned.”
Fearne paid tribute to those who died while COVID-19 positive in Malta, 618 persons to date, stating that the greater part of those who did indeed die whilst positive, had more than likely died as a result of the infection, rather than merely being positive.
“This garden currently has over 500 trees,” Fearne said. “I urge all those who have family members and dear ones who died during this period, to visit this garden and honour them here.”
Fearne commented on the current increase in cases seen in the country, stating that a similar increase has been seen in several other countries owing to the prevalence of a variant of Omicron that is slightly different from the one previously infecting the Maltese (Omicron BA.2).
A decrease in temperature – a result of a latent winter – also served to aggravate the situation.
“Our Winter came a little late, which doesn’t help with respiratory illnesses in general. But we also had a reduction in measures and an increase in mobility.”
“This increase in mobility, we expect, will continue with the continuation of the political events, then Easter, then Summer. We are naturally expecting the weather to improve and could mean our numbers will stabilise.”
“Our cases, so far, are not severe – mainly because of the prevalent variant – but also owing to our level of immunity in Malta. We only have one confirmed positive case in ITU; the lowest since November.”
The Government will continue to follow the exit plan previously communicated in Marc, detailing that standing events could return on 10 April, whilst weddings (standing) could see a resumption on 1st April.
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