LOCAL NEWS
Press Conference by Health Superintendent (1st April 1230 hrs)
In her daily briefing, Prof Charmaine Gauci announced that 19 new cases were identified in the past 24 hours, resulting from 627 swabs. These 19 patients are all in good condition. Over the past two days Malta registered 32 cases, taking the totally to 188. The majority of cases were locally transmitted.
One of the locally imported cases concerns a Lidl (Safi) employee. Prof Gauci explained that while the necessary contact tracing is taking place, contact with members of the public was likely to be limited. However, shoppers visiting the Safi outlet after 26th March should contact 111 if they experience COVID-19-related symptoms.
Regarding driving instructors, Prof Gauci remarked that discussions were ongoing to understand the risks involved in this case.
MEDIA COVERAGE
Timesofmalta.com
Government urged to monitor sudden price hikes
Shoppers are accusing some supermarkets of taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis by hiking up prices.
Many are taking to social media to voice anger at certain local businesses, who have marked up the cost of certain items from between 50 and 100 per cent. “We’ve been receiving complaints for about two weeks now,” says the president of the Malta Consumer Association Benny Borg Bonello.
“The calls were mainly about products such as hand sanitisers, but we’ve also had people reporting smaller grocers.” The NGO says it asked the government to monitor the situation and investigate the true extent of the problem, as well as identify which products are being affected.
“Monitoring is important so as to have a holistic view of the situation as complaints are usually selective,” Borg Bonello explained. “If the monitoring shows this is quite extensive, we do recommend price caps, even though under normal circumstances we do not.”
Admissions to University, Junior College to proceed
Admissions to higher educational institutions for the next academic year will be proceeding regularly after it was announced that SEC and MATSEC exams would be cancelled.
Education Minister Owen Bonnici announced on Saturday that schools would remain closed until the end of June and that SEC examinations due to be held next month were cancelled.
Students who were due to sit for ordinary level exams will be assessed by the MATSEC board based on their mock examination results or can choose to sit for their exams during a September examination session. All students sitting for intermediate or advanced level examinations will sit for their exams during the forthcoming September session.
However, admissions into the University of Malta and G.F. Abela Junior College should not be impacted, a University of Malta spokesperson told Times of Malta, as students will be allowed to apply and begin the academic year provisionally, pending the outcome of their exams.
Newsbook
Lidl employee infected with COVID-19; Safi store closed
The Lidl store in Ħal Safi has been temporarily shut down as one of the employees has been tested positive to coronavirus. This was confirmed by the Superintendent of Public Health, Prof. Charmaine Gauci. The Lidl employee who tested positive to coronavirus was one of the 13 cases announced on Tuesday.
Printed
Malta Today reports that a Maltese couple aboard a cruise liner has not been given permission to disembark in Malta when the ship passes by the islands on its way back to its homeport in the UK. Malta Today reveals that Mater Dei hospital is mulling transferring some medical services such as physiotherapy to the University of Malta campus to make room for more COvid-19 patients in the event of a surge.
The Times says that travel between Malta and Gozo will be restricted to essential commutes from Friday. Gozo Minister Clin Caruana said that only people with a valid reason for crossing will be allowed onboard the ferry. The Times says that Malta Enterprise received some 2,200 applications for aid on the first day of the Covid-19 rescue scheme. The first applications cover around 6,600 employees and self-employed.
The Independent reports that 13 new patients tested positive for COvid-19 on Tuesday, with the number of cases now totalling 169. Meanwhile two of the four patients in intensive care were transferred back to the infectious diseases’ unit. The Independent speaks to Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Anton Refalo who said that the virus spread is having a negative impact on the sectors. Farmers and fishermen are feeling the pinch after restaurants were ordered to close down.
L-Orizzont says that spread of the virus is expected to push economies into a crisis bigger than the banking crash of 2009. The paper says that the European Commission is concerned about the effects of Covid-19. L-Orizzont speaks to Caritas director Anthony Gatt who warned that the disease may increase the number of homeless people, particularly foreign workers whose job permits have not been renewed.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN Leader Adrian Delia who said called for unity and perseverance in order to “gain freedom” from the pandemic as one country. Delia was commemorating Freedom Day. In-Nazzjon says that the Consumers’ Authority noted an increase in prices across different products in the wake of the virus spread. The paper quotes Chamber of Commerce president David Xuereb who said price hikes are unacceptable in this situation.
Editorials
The Times focuses its Editorial on the role that can be played by banks during this time of crisis. The Editor recommends that personal clients with mortgagees must be supported just as much as businesses are. However, the Editor disagrees with proposals for a windfall profits tax on local banks, however they need to do their part to support their distressed clients. The Editorial also calls on regulators to o put the brakes on banking reforms that discourage risk-taking.
The Independent shares a message of gratitude to the lesser-known front liners, such as carers in old people’s homes, people who work with others with severe disability, including at places such as Dar tal-Providenza, to truck drivers and pilots hauling cargo. While the latter’s role is many times not widely acknowledged, it is essential to ensure that the country is not isolated from the rest of the world.
Two recent statements have angered Maltatoday’s Editor, namely the decisions to allow Spring hunting to take place as well as well as the nod in favour of construction to be that economic sector which propels the economy once again after this crisis is over. The Editor argues that this crisis has shown numerous occasions where some are treated in different ways then others – noting the case of third country nations which have been abandoned after being ‘squeezed liked lemons’.
In-Nazzjon looks at some lessons which could be learnt from this difficult time. The Editor calls in particular for the birth of an economy which lives in harmony with its environment. Interestingly, the green economy can provide potential for growth as the world rebounds from the crisis.
L-Orizzont’s Editor latches on yesterday’s Freedom Day celebration to auspicate a new kind of freedom among the Maltese public. The freedom from racism, from antipathy towards people with different backgrounds, beliefs, nationalities. The Editor auspicates that the country makes a bigger effort to truly make integration work.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Italy’s coronavirus lockdown measures to be extended to April 13
Italy will extend anti-coronavirus lockdown restrictions imposed last month to April 13, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Wednesday.
“We must not confuse the first positive signals with an ‘all clear’ signal. Data shows that we are on the right path and that the drastic decisions are bearing fruit,” Speranza told the upper house Senate.
After days of steep rises in cases, data this week has suggested the pace of growth in the number of total cases in Italy is slowing, with new infections coming in at 4,053 on Tuesday. Deaths have remained largely steady at over 800 a day.
Trump warns of “painful weeks” ahead
“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,” a grave-faced Donald Trump told the nation on Tuesday afternoon. “This is going to be a very, very painful two weeks.”
How painful? The number of deaths, based on current projections, is between 100,000 and 200,000. Mr Trump tried to frame this news as best he could, noting that the projections for US casualties if the government had done nothing were in the millions. “A lot of people were saying ‘think of it as the flu’, but it’s not the flu,” he said. “It’s vicious.”
EU Corner
Eurogroup to discuss EU-wide unemployment reinsurance scheme
The European Commission is planning to present to EU finance ministers next week its pan-European unemployment reinsurance scheme proposal to support the countries most affected by the coronavirus.
The Commission and EU finance ministers are considering all options in their arsenal to cushion the economic impact of the coronavirus COVID-19. After years of debate, the European unemployment insurance scheme could see the light of day in the not-so- distant future.
The EU executive plans to present to the Eurogroup on 7 April a proposal to create a mechanism to top up national unemployment benefits, as EU sources confirmed to EURACTIV.
More News:
For a Fact-Checked Aggregated Service of CoVid-19 related information, please visit: https://corporatedispatch.com/category/coronavirus/
Additional info
Helplines
111 – For those who feel symptoms of COVID-19 or who wish further information
21411 411 – For those in mandatory quarantine who require provisions of food and medicine
1772 – For those who are feeling lonely.
153 – For those who require information about the financial measures administered by the Department for Social Security.
144 – For those who require information about the financial measures administered by Malta Enterprise.
2204 2200 – For Maltese residents who were caught in one of the high-risk countries and wish to return to Malta
25981000 – For those who have questions about the educational sector and the impact of the coronavirus
21692447– For hoteliers and tourists who have questions about the announced measures.
5903030 – For elderly persons bereft of support who need medicines, ready-made meals or food products (fruit and vegetables)
This daily update bulletin is being compiled for the Chamber of Advocates by CI Consulta from Corporate ID Group. CI Consulta delivers policy research and analysis, evaluations and impact assessments up to policy implementation and integration.
