LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The variant of the Covid-19 originally found in the United Kingdom had been identified in Malta. Maltese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne has confirmed the arrival of the UK Covid-19 variant to Malta. This was also confirmed by the Superintendent of Public Health, Prof. Charmaine Gauci, who announced that three cases have been found in Malta.
She explained that 2 cases were foreigners, after travelling to Malta from the United Kingdom. The third case, however, is a 75-year-old Maltese woman. Investigations are ongoing as to how she contracted this strain.
The variant is about 70% more contagious than the original version of the virus but whoever is infected will have the same effects as one would have if infected with the original virus.
Over the past 24 hours, the Maltese health authorities registered 109 new COVID-19 cases while 1,434 cases remain active. Three individuals aged between 67 and 87 are the latest victims of the pandemic, which until now claimed 219 lives.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

The first jab of the anti-Covid vaccine in Malta was given today. Rachel Grech, a nurse that works at the Infectious Disease Unit, Mater Dei Hospital, was the first person to be vaccinated. She was vaccinated in the presence of Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Dr Chris Fearne.

Robert Abela insisted that although Malta has the vaccine, the pandemic is not over, and people still have to abide by the restrictions.

Rachel Grech appealed to the Maltese and Gozitans that it is important that everyone takes the vaccine.

The first shipment of Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Malta on Saturday morning on a Cessna plane carrying around 10,000 doses. The doses were flown from a Pfizer factory in Puurs Belgium through Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, the local health authorities confirmed that four more patients have died. Malta ha registered 210 deaths due to COVID-19.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

La VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta recieved the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccine on Saturday morning A Cessna plane with around 10,000 doses landed at the Malta International Airport at around 11am. The doses were flown from a Pfizer factory in Puurs Belgium through Amsterdam.
Malta is set to start its mass vaccination programme on Sunday.
Around 600,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech will be shipped to Malta over the coming weeks and months. Malta secured a total of 600,000 doses from Pfizer-BioNTech. If the European Medicines Authority approve Modernàs and AstraZeneca vaccine, these will also be available. In total, Malta has more than one million doses on order.
The Maltese general public will start receiving the vaccine by April. Health Minister Chris Fearne explained that those who will receive the vaccination will also receive a health certificate. He added that at a European level, a discussion on whether to issue a vaccine passport has initiated.
Prime Minister Robert Abela urged the public to remain vigilant and not to let down their guard. “The road to normality begins today,” he stressed while urging the public to remain cautious.
Superintendent of Public Health Professor Charmaine Gauci urged the public to get vaccinated.
The World Health Organisation’s regional director, Hans Kluge, congratulated Maltàs health leadership ahead of the rolling out of the mass vaccination programme.
Visibly emotional, the health minister asked for a few minutes of silence to honour the Covid-19 victims. He acknowledged that while it is a day to celebrate the arrival of the vaccine, families have lost their loved ones to the pandemic. Up to now, 206 patients lost their life.
Malta has registered a total of 12,241 positive cases. 1,485 cases remain active.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS) – A new fast ferry between Malta and Sicily will be launched next summer. Ponte Ferries will operate the new, fast ferry catamaran service to Sicily with a 96-metre passenger, vehicle and cargo-carrying, high-speed craft.
The ferry, which will shuttle every day between Malta and the Port of Augusta – located less than 30 minutes away from Catania – promises to bring the much-needed choice and competition with the entry of a second operator in the market.
The HSC Artemis will sail into the Grand Harbour in the coming days, where it will undergo internal upgrades to equip the vessel with the latest technologies and amenities, providing passengers with a number of firsts for this type of travel. She will also feature a club class lounge, among many other services.
A Ponte Ferries spokesperson said: “We are thrilled and determined to offer a choice for hauliers and visitors to Sicily. We have researched the market for a few years now, and know that this is what people want”.
Ponte Ferries has been in talks with the Valletta Cruise Port and Port of Augusta authorities for at least two years. Ponte Ferries is a Maltese joint venture.
The high-speed craft will be able to shuttle more than 717 passengers between Malta and Augusta and has the flexibility to carry 245 cars, or 15 road freight trailers plus 180 cars.
The trip between Malta and Augusta will offer clients a new opportunity to explore Catania, Taormina and Syracuse with a reduction in transit time.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Neville Gafà, a former official at the Office of the Maltese Prime Minister has been acquitted of threatening Italian journalist Nello Scavo last summer. The Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence and that the comment was more political than a threat.
The case goes back to a Tweet made in June 2020 by Neville Gafa telling Scavo “Stop your dirty business. If not, we will stop you.” The comment was made on a post by the humanitarian NGO Alarm Phone. The journalist who works with the Italian newspaper ‘L’Avvenirè had asked on Twitter to who was the threat meant, and who the “we” was referring to in Gafà’s tweet.
In an immediate comment, Scavo declared “these legal proceedings have allowed me to get to know at first hand the reality in which journalists in Malta live and the climate of continual tension they live in and the constant belittling of the work they do”.
The journalist who has been given police protection in Italy because of threats by the Mafia said that he “will not stop from supporting my Maltese colleagues who have bravely taken on the mantle from the works of Daphne Caruana Galizia and who fight to keep her memory alive”.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The President of Malta, George Vella declared that Maltàs first and primary challenge should be that of bringing to justice, those who are guilty and others that have participated in the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
In his address on Republic Day, Maltàs President declared that “allegations of criminality and dubious connections have to be investigated in the most professional way possible, and those involved in this crime should be brought to justice without delay or favour”.
He warned that restoring Maltàs reputation overseas does not come by trying to forget what happened, but by showing genuine remorse and making sure that nothing of the sort will ever happen again.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The largest drug haul ever made in Maltàs history has taken place at the Freeport thanks to the Malta Customs Department. 612 kg of cocaine were discovered concealed within pallets that were carrying cooking oil. The cargo left Ecuador and transited through Colombia before being intercepted by Customs in Malta en-route to Libya.
Discrepancies in the scanning image of the cargo lead the Customs officials to carry out a physical inspection on the container’s load. The pallets, carrying the freight, appeared dense compared to regular images and, subsequently, officials offloaded and dismantled one of the pallets. The inspection lead to the discovery of packets concealed within the pallet’s structure, and contained a white substance which gave a positive indication for cocaine. A total of 510 packets were elevated, weighing 1.2kg each, for a total of a 612 kg haul. The street value of these narcotics amount to 69 million euro. The case was handed over to the Police Drug Squad in Malta for further investigations, while the duty Magistrate was informed about the haul and assigned several court experts to assist.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe described as “fundamentally unsatisfactory” Maltàs response to its recommendations on ensuring justice for the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and the strengthening of the rule of law in the country.
Eighteen months ago, the assembly made several recommendations to Malta.
The committee said that the implementation of the recommendations on ensuring justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia remained “fundamentally unsatisfactory, with no final results”. The report slams Maltàs response on ending impunity for high-level corruption as “entirely unsatisfactory” while the response on strengthening the rule of law in Malta was “unsatisfactory overall, with mixed results”. The committee also called on the Maltese government to “refrain from any attempt to impose an arbitrary time-limit” on the work of the independent public inquiry currently under way.
On Monday, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela said that he is still expecting the public inquiry to conclude by the deadline he had set – 15 December. He insisted that the inquiry had been given enough time to fulfil its mandate.
Meanwhile, Dutch MEP Sophie in’t Veld has written a letter to the Maltese Prime Minister calling on him to allow the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia the time needed, and not until December 15.
In September 2019, the Maltese government had announced the launch of a public inquiry into the assassination of Caruana Galizia who was killed by a car bomb outside her home in Bidnija on 16 October 2017.
In its reaction, the Maltese government said that in the past months, it carried out unprecedented Constitutional and Institutional reforms which were positively received by the Venice Commission within the Council of Europe, and the European Commission.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese authorities have confiscated a huge quantity of ‘Jihadist drugs’ as part of an international operation ‘Peacock Pills’.
According to offical report, the Maltese Customs have seized 225 million drug pills, mostly ‘Tramadol’. These are used as painkillers made of synthetic opium and are known to be used by fundamentalist Islamic groups.
The amounts seized by the Maltese Customs are in large doses. According to investigators, it is believed that these were destined to fighters. No further information was released by the Maltese authorities. However these drugs are used for severe pain treatment. However, according to medical reports, the drug is also used to increase endurance strength and to alter the senses.
During Operation Peacock Pills, almost 1.2 billion pills were seized. The seized drugs by the Maltese Customs account for 20% of the total seizure. The value is considered to reach about €1.2 billion.The Maltese authorities took part in a similar operation in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
In 2017, Italy’s financial police revealed that they had uncovered 37.5m pills of tramadol, also used by Islamist fighters. The cargo was heading for Libya. According to the Italian police, the consignment had arrived from India and would have been used for two purposes: to help finance Islamist terrorism and for use by jihadist fighters as a stimulant and to heighten resistance to physical stress.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) Malta has published its strategy for anti-COVID vaccination. Addressing the Maltese Parliament, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Chris Fearne, announced that the first vaccinations will be given in January.
The first doses will be given to the health workers, residents at homes for the elderly, residents of mental care institutions and all elderly over 85 years of age.
In February, the vaccine will be available to all front-liners and elderly over 80 years of age.
The next phase will include patients with chronic diseases and elderly over the age of 75 years together with all child carers.
In the fourth phase all people over 55 years will be vaccinated.
The Maltese Government bought one million and 600 doses from two companies – Pfizer and Astrazeneca. Another 700,000 vaccines from another three companies have been ordered, however, the research of these companies is still slightly behind. He confirmed that the European Union acted as intermediary to guarantee the advantageous prices.
The Maltese Deputy Prime Minister explained that Pfizer’s vaccine is at the most advanced stage with over 150 technical trial in six countries. The European Union is pledging to approve the vaccine by 29 December.
The authorization of Modernàs vaccine is expected to be given in January. While Astrazeneca should be available by February – March.
The Maltese government said that the vaccine will not be mandatory and will be free of charge. The Pfizer vaccine need to be kept in temperatures of -70C. Two injections are required for the medication to be effective. The vaccinations need to be taken within 21 days.
During the last 24 hours, the Maltese health authorities have confirmed four more deaths due to COVID-19. The pandemic has claimed 159 lives while 2,007 are still active.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews