VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and enterprise minister Miriam Dalli announced a new €20 million aid package for businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abela said the packagès objectives are to assist businesses in paying rent, utility bills and covering other costs and to incentivise investment and growth.
Dalli augured that the direct support measures intended to inject liquidity and the incentives aimed at stimulating economic activity will in the long-term encourage companies to adopt sustainable business models.
The €20 million aid package include an extension of rent schemes by 50% over and above assistance provided in 2020; the electricity support scheme, subsidising 50% of bills, will be re-issued covering June – August 2021; a €1,000 grant for businesses that will remain closed after 10 May; a restart incentive scheme that will cover advisory costs up to €5,000 and up to €10,000 to support implementation of new business initiatives; additional 20% support in the form of tax credits; extension of the period by which the €78.4 million tax credits already awarded can be utilized; Incisive aid intensity in the form of cash grants up to €50,000 and an extension of tax certificates due for expiry in 2021-23 by three years.
Prime Minister Robert Abela declared that so far, the Maltese government have forked out almost half a billion euros to help businesses and ensure that no jobs are lost. He added that this includes €455 million in wage supplements which benefitted some 100,000 workers, which amounts to half of the workforce in the private sector.
Pointing out that Malta is one of only three EU countries which registered a growth in employment, Abela said the country was on the road of recovery and hoped that in the coming weeks “people can not only get on with their jobs but also enjoy their lives.”
According to Abela, the forecasts for summer are positive, adding that “the number of bookings is encouraging. A few weeks ago, he had warned that the country would not survive another summer without tourists, however he today sounded an optimistic note. “I believe wèll have a good summer, a very good summer,” he said. Noting that travellers in Europe and elsewhere are weighing up their options, Abela said it is imperative to make Malta a safe destination to attract tourists who haven’t made their mind up yet.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Restaurants and snack bars will partially reopen across Malta on May, 10 in a boost for coronavisrus-hit businesses as the number of COVID-19 infections remains under control. However, they will be only allowed to reopen for lunch until 5pm and a maximum of four individuals per table will be allowed.
This was confirmed by Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela as he announced the easing of further restrictive measures which are aimed to limit the transmission of coronavirus within the community. The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association said that the re-opening of restaurants for lunch only does not make business sense for the majority of restaurants.
From today, all non-essential shops and services, as well as all museums have reopened. Four people can gather in public and people from four different households can gather in private residences. It is being requested that masks are to be worn at the beach.
However, mass events will not resume once the country reopens to tourism on June, 1. There is no date yet when bars, social clubs and gyms will reopen, and English language schools have been deemed high risk and there is no date yet for their reopening.
Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne announced that the vaccine certificate will come into force in May and this would facilitate traveling. Malta is expected to enter into bilateral agreements with non-EU countries in order to recognize the certificates and exempt travelers from quarantine in case of full vaccination. The authorities are insisting that as from June 1, passengers have to present either the certificate or a negative PCR test to be allowed to board a plane to Malta, otherwise they would be barred from boarding. At present, 30% of the passengers arriving in Malta do not have the test.
Malta has 422 active cases while 413 lost their life due to the pandemic. Until Sunday, the health authorities administered over 313,279 vaccine doses with 100,686 being the second dose.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese health authorities confirmed the first cases of the Brazilian COVID-19 variant. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne said that three cases of the Brazilian variant have been found in Malta, all of which were brought in by people coming to Malta. The three cases are currently in quarantine.
The total number of active cases in Malta stands at 519. No new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. So far, 411 lost their life due to the pandemic.
Deputy Prime Minister Fearne announced that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been granted approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and will start to be used in Malta.
Fearne said by the end of the week over 300,000 vaccinations would have been administered, with two-thirds of those aged between 50 and 59 already receiving the first dose. He also explained that so far around 90% of people aged 60 and over have been vaccinated. People over 40 can register for the Covid-19 vaccine from this Friday.
Chris Fearne also announced that if the numbers of cases reported daily and the numbers of people admitted to Mater Dei Hospital remain low and stable, it will be possible to relax a number of measures from next Monday.
Non-essential shops, museums and non-essential services will be reopened while the number of people allowed to gather in public will increase to four. Gatherings in private residences will allow people from a maximum of four different households.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is insisting that restaurants should be reopened on Monday along with other non-essential shops, including hotel restaurants which are presently not permitted to serve breakfasts to their guests.
The association is also insisting that tourism sector workers should be prioritized for vaccination against Covid-19, and that all should be vaccinated before Malta reopens for tourism in June.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Tourists visiting Malta during the summer period directly through local hotels will be eligible to receive a financial incentive.
€100 will be given to tourists booking accommodation at a five-star hotel directly through the hotel’s booking system. Those opting for a four-star hotel will receive €75, and a €50 payment will be given to those booking a three-star hotel accommodation. The payment will then be doubled, as it will be matched by the hotel. This means that tourists are eligible to receive up to €200 each. To be eligible for the scheme, tourists must book a minimum of three days.
On the other hand, to encourage tourists to opt for Gozo, the financial aid for Gozitan hotels will be 10% higher. However, according to the Gozo Tourism Association, 75% of accommodation units licensed to host visitors in Gozo do not qualify for the travel incentive announced by the Maltese government.
Maltàs Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo explained that this incentive was made available after the Malta Tourism Authority was allocated €3.5 million for the scheme, which is estimated to impact around 35,000 tourists.
Hotels that wish to participate in the scheme will first have to declare their interest with the Malta Tourism Authority. The money will be handed out to tourists directly by the hotel.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association welcomed the announcement made by Minister Bartolo. President Tony Zahra said “the tourism sector is gearing up to ensure that it overcomes the most difficult 12-month period since the early 60’s. Our objective is to re-establish the Maltese islands as a safe and quality destination in the shortest possible time,” concluded Zahra.
Meanwhile, Minister Clayton Bartolo announced that as of June 1, 18 airlines plan to resume flights to Malta this summer, with network capacity at around 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Four airlines will add Maltese routes for the first time. Tourism authorities are also in “advanced talks” with a further four airlines interested in starting routes to Malta. The Maltese government plans to allow vaccinated tourists to visit free of restrictions, while unvaccinated tourists will need proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken a few hours before arrival.
Cruise liners will also continue their service this summer, with no less than 34 port calls scheduled until the end of June.
Local tourism operators said that there is a great interest as regards travelling to Malta. The Maltese authorities are planning to start welcoming tourist as from the beginning of June. Tourism Minister Clayton Barolo said that the first tourists will be from Europe, particularly from the UK, Maltàs largest tourism market. Hotel owners reported other bookings from Italy, Germany, France and Cyprus. The Maltese government is also in discussions with the European Commission to allow ‘green’ passports for those who are vaccinated, to travel within Malta without any restrictions. The plan, as outlined by Minister Bartolo, is that vaccinated tourists will be able to visit Malta free of restrictions by presenting a digital “green passport” on arrival, while non-vaccinated tourists will need to submit a negative PCR COVID-19 test, taken a few hours before their arrival.
Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela warned that Malta will be in big trouble if the country misses out on another touristic season this summer. “If we lose a summer of tourism the country will have a problem. If on the other hand we are careful and cautious as we have been so far, and open up gradually, wèll ensure a good summer for tourism and a great future for the country.”
Abela added that a plan is being drawn up to assist those most affected by the pandemic as he reassured that wage supplements and other benefits will remain in place until the economy recovers.
The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta said that English language schools need financial support if the industry is to survive, pointing out the pandemic hit hard, causing “terrible financial losses”.
Recently, the Hotel and Restaurant Association declared its disappointment that no specific day has been announced yet when hotels and restaurants will be able to reopen. The association has appealed to the Government to give a specific date before April 26, when hotels and restaurants will be able to start operating.
Malta is highly dependent on the tourism industry, with approximately 17% of GDP reliant on this sector, directly and indirectly. It has been estimated that Malta lost €251 million in tourism revenue in July 2020 only, with visitor spending dropping by 88% in this period and an 84% drop in actual visitor numbers.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The Maltese health authorties revealed that there were delays in a Pfizer shipment this week which saw people being sent home after they turned up for their appointment.
Many elderly persons who went to health clinics for the Covid-19 vaccine were turned away due to vaccinations running out in several localities. Elderly people complained that since no one had informed them about not being vaccinated, they only found out after having gone for their appointment as issued by the Health Department. This also happened to a group of elderly people with mobility problems, as well as vulnerable people. However, they were still sent back.
According to the Health Ministry, the next delivery of the Pfizer vaccine should have arrived in Malta last Monday. This caused a two-day rescheduling of vaccination appointments.
Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne said that Malta received fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine than expected.
According to the Ministry for Health, 232,335 vaccine doses were administered with 65,205 being the second dose. No deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. However, 401 people have lost their life due to coronavirus. So far, Malta has 549 active cases of COVID-19.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that primary schools, childcare centres and kindergartens will reopen their doors on Monday, while non-essential shops and services will be reopened on 26 April.
Abela was delivering a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne as well as Superintendent of Public Health Professor Charmaine Gauci while announcing the government’s plans to start lifting off some of the restrictive measures currently in place.
It is not yet known when bars and restaurants will be allowed to reopen. Abela stressed that this would depend on how the situation develops.
Malta was shut down in March when 510 coronavirus cases were registered on a single day.
According to the Maltese government’s plans middle schools and secondary schools will open on April 14 and 16 respectively. Post-secondary education institutions will continue to deliver their lectures online.
Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne announced that as from April 18, churches can reopen their doors and resume holding mass whilst following mitigation measures against the coronavirus. As from April 26, groups of up to four people will be allowed in public while tourism will open as from June, 1.
Maltese Prime Minister declared that measures can be reintroduced if hospitalisation numbers will increase again.
The Malta Union of Teachers said it hoped that the lifting of restrictive measures would not lead to another wave of new positive cases which would put everyonès lives at risks and force schools to close down again. The union added that hundreds of educators still have not received their appointment to get their first Covid-19 jab.
The Union of Professional Educators reacted to the newly announced plan saying it recommended on enforcing social distancing measures in schools, strengthening contact tracing procedures and a revision of a previous risk assessment.
The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association is anxiously awaiting the reopening of restaurants and urged the government to announce the target date ahead of 26 April when non-essential shops and services can reopen their doors to customers. The association welcomed the news that Malta will reopen for tourism by 1 June depending on the coronavirus situation.
The Malta Chamber of SMEs declared that the gradual relaxation of Covid-19 measures announced by the government was “clearly a manifestation of the breakdown of social dialogue”. “Even though everyone appreciates the delicate situation at the moment and in principle we agree with the staggered re-opening, one cannot but feel a great level of worry and anguish at how businesses will continue to survive this extra stretch.” Businesses which are still closed, it said, were now facing the worst situation and declared that some sectors have reached a very critical level and unless helped more will not make it into the recovery stage.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta and Libya agreed to facilitate visa procedures for Libyan citizens who will now be able to obtain a visa from Tripoli. During a joint press conference addressed by the Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela and new Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, both sides discussed the importance of cooperation between both countries in various sectors.
It was also agreed that flights between Malta and Libya will resume “within days”.
Abela invited Prime Minister Dbeibah and the government of national unity to visit Malta, saying it’s the first EU member states to do so.
“We have always considered Libya as our partners,” Abela said as he announced that Maltàs embassy in Tripoli and the consulate have reopened their doors. “Malta looks forward to resume direct flights to and from Libya, as soon as the situation allows,” he said.
Maltàs Prime Minister highlighted its willingness to continue cooperating with Libya in order to ensure that the country returns to normality as soon as possible. “A strong Libya governed by Libyans for the Libyan people,” he said. A strong and prosperous Libya means that Malta and Europe can prosper, Abela added.
Facilitating of investments, the fight against coronavirus pandemic and assisting the government in ensuring Libyàs security were mentioned by Abela during the press conference.
Abela reiterated Maltàs commitment to continue voicing its support for the North African country in the European Union, and promised that the country will continue to assist.
Malta will also be assisting Libya in securing anti-coronavirus vaccines, the prime minister revealed.
This was the first meeting between the two leaders since Dbeibah was elected to head a transitional government in February.
Libya will go to polls in December.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela has left Malta to Libya to meet with the country’s new prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. According to local reports, on the agenda both leaders will discuss immigration, travel between the two countries, trade and even security in the southern Mediterranean Sea.
Earlier this month, the Maltese ambassador to Libya, Charles Saliba, arrived in Tripoli to assume office at Maltàs embassy in Tripoli. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Government of National Accord, Mohammed Al-Giblawi said that the Maltese ambassador’s start of work in Tripoli “is an important step in establishing cooperation between Libya and Malta and to end peoplès suffering as they apply to obtain visas to the European country.”
Malta is expected to officially open its embassy in Tripoli after Ramadan.
Last December, the Libyan media reported that Malta has agreed to start issuing Schengen visa from its embassy in Tripoli. During that time, the Maltese Finance Minister Clyde Caruana paid an official visit to Tripoli in which he met Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and Transport Minister Milad Maitouq.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Keith Schembri, former Chief-of-Staff of former Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was granted bail against a deposit of 60,000 euros and a personal guarantee of 90,000 euros. He was released from pre-trial detention subject to a number of conditions. These include a curfew from 8pm to 7am, a prohibition on approaching the airport or beaches and the surrendering of his passport, ID card and driving licence.
The court rules that there is enough evidence for the accused to be placed under a bill of indictment.
Schembri was arrested and charged on March 20 in connection to money laundering, fraud, forgery and corruption. Two magisterial inquiries which were initiated following an application filed by then Opposition Leader and Partit Nazzjonalista leader Simon Busuttil led to the arrests of eleven individuals. The magisterial inquiry into allegations of corruption carried out by Schembri and Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna was concluded in September last year while a second inquiry into allegations of graft and money laundering between Schembri and former Managing Director of Allied Newspapers Adrian Hillman was concluded last month.
Former Chief-of-Staff Keith Schembri was denied bail twice with the magistrate previously saying that allegations he had forged documents did not give her peace of mind and that there was real danger of interference in ongoing investigations.
The next court session will resume on May, 11.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Malta has administered almost all the vaccine jabs it has received so far. According to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health Chris Fearne, only 918 of 203,820 vaccine jabs had yet to be used or been kept aside for second doses.
Chris Fearne has also called on the European Commission to negotiate with Russia so that the Sputnik V vaccine can be made available to all EU citizens.
Meanwhile, the Superintendent for Public Health Prof. Charmaine Gauci announced that 6 individuals that have been vaccinated against coronavirus passed away. Gauci said the majority of those who received the vaccine are protected against the virus. However, one is not protected 100 per cent. She advised those individuals considered as vulnerable to adhere to the measures aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus.
Prof. Gauci added that the UK variant has become more dominant. According to the latest studies, 79% of the positive cases have been attributed to the highly infectious variant.
According to official statistics, Malta has 1,660 active cases with an average age of 39 years. 7,011 individuals are in mandatory quarantine. 385 patients have lost their life due to coronavirus. The latest victims are a 71-year-old female and a 46-year-old male, both died at Mater Dei Hospital. A 77-year-old male passed away at Gozo General Hospital.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews