The Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela will be holding a press conference at 12.15pm. Deputy PM and Health Minister Chris Fearne and Superintendent of Public Health Prof. Charmaine Gauci will also be present. He will supposedly be announcing more mitigation measures related to COVID-19 as the country experiences a spike in cases.

Yesterday, Abela excluded the possibility of a lockdown for the islands, but said talks were being held to see what measures can be enforced. Increasing fines for those who break current measures is one of the things being looked at in order to ensure that locals are indeed observing the mitigation measures in place.

"I continue to believe that the decision should be not to enter lockdown and maintain a balance between health and people's livelihood," he said yesterday.

This morning, the Malta College of Pathologists called for more enforcement, suggesting measures such as the temporary closure of non-essential services, an emphasis on online learning, prohibiting the mixing of families and reducing the amount of people allowed to gather together. "We urge the authorities to take the bull by the horns and take all the necessary measures to reduce the spread of the SARS CoV2 virus before the situation becomes totally unmanageable.”

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