Remove ‘Discriminatory’ Vaccine Entry Rules For Sports And Culture, Bernard Grech Urges
Opposition Leader Bernard Grech has urged the government to scrap COVID-19 vaccine certificate requirements for sports and cultural events, describing the current rules as “discriminatory”.
“Pandemic rules keep getting introduced and scrapped,” Grech said in Parliament yesterday. “Now that the PN has spoken in favour of freedoms and against discrimination, the people have risen up against you and the election is approaching, the government has suddenly realised that the rules introduced on 17th January had to be removed.”
“We [PN] speak out of conviction and you [the government] speak out of convenience; that is the main difference between us.”
Grech said he spoke to a mother who welcomed the news that vaccine entry rules will be relaxed but who remains concerned that her unvaccinated daughter cannot go to training yet.
“I tell her to have faith because the Opposition will keep speaking on your behalf. In our eyes, you and your daughter are both important.”
Grech also accused the government of displaying a complete lack of empathy for people who are concerned about the booster for medical reasons and urged it to provide a sense of certainty as to whether village feasts will be allowed this summer.
Yesterday, only ten days after controversial vaccine entry rules came into force, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced plans to ease them in the coming weeks, arguing this was possible because some 75% of the adult population has been boosted while hospitalisations have remained relatively low.
As of 7th February, vaccine certificates will no longer be obligatory to enter restaurants, snack bars, or kazini. And from 14th February, the vaccine certificate rules will be scrapped for bars, gyms, and pools.
However, up-to-date vaccinations will remain obligatory for casinos, nightclubs, travel, sports and events.
Fearne also confirmed the government plans to eliminate quarantine for contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19 and allow village feasts to return this summer, but said it is still too early to tell whether the plans will come to pass or not.
Several sports associations have voiced their disappointment that sports events will remain subject to vaccine rules, with the Malta Football Association denouncing this as a “slap in the face” and the Malta Olympics Committee describing it as a “continuous and blatant disregard for sport”.
Popular singer Ira Losco said she is baffled that music and sports will keep “suffering the injustice” of not having equal vaccine entry rules as other sectors.
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