Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has steered away from calling for the closure of schools, arguing that education should be prioritised too.

Gauci gave a brief comment to TVM this evening, shortly after the Malta Union of Teachers announced a two-day strike in protest at the government’s refusal to move schools online in light of a recent surge in COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve been working with the education authorities from the start, assessing the situation and seeing how to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 cases in the community. So far we’ve managed to keep our schools open, thanks to the measures we’ve adopted and the cooperation from staff and parents. We must strengthen this, because while health is a priority so too is education.”

Rather than calling for the closure of schools, Gauci advised parents to keep their children at home if they’re displaying symptoms. 

MUT president Marco Bonnici claimed today that the health authorities have advised the education authorities to keep schools closed. Although Bonnici didn’t clarify who exactly from the health authorities lent this advice, he confirmed he wasn’t referring to Charmaine Gauci.

Education Minister Justyne Caruana has said schools will reopen tomorrow despite the strike because the health authorities haven’t called for their closure. 

All church schools and a number of independent schools will go online tomorrow and Friday, with further decisions taken over the weekend. 

Should schools open tomorrow?