Malta’s Superintendent for Public Health has backed precautionary measures taken within the Ħal Far open centre to prevent eight cases of COVID-19 steamrolling into a major outbreak.

Speaking to Lovin Malta after claims that quarantine measures within the centre were failing to address the issue, Gauci insisted that all necessary measures were being taken.

Gauci said that health authorities have made recommendations but would not elaborate.

She did reveal that authorities were conducting ‘symptom tracing’. However, this is only done once they had shown visible signs that they had contracted the virus.

The government has so far placed the centre under quarantine for the next two weeks. At the same time, the Malta Red Cross opened a makeshift clinic. Open centre residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been segregated.

Social distancing is being encouraged. However, over 1000 residents still share communal bathrooms and dormitories, along with public spaces. The centre is simply too small to enforce it.

Residents have told Lovin Malta that measures do little to address a potentially catastrophic outbreak within the centre’s walls.

With eight cases in 24 hours, the number of patients in the open centre could grow exponentially.

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