142 COVID-19 cases registered with 174 recoveries

Jul 27 2021

Malta has registered 142 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours from 4,031 swab tests, while 174 patients have recovered. No deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. This information was announced by the official Facebook page of Malta’s Ministry for Health.

As of Monday 26th July 2021, 746,883 vaccine doses were administered of which 393,967 were 1st doses. 371,802 people are currently fully vaccinated.

To date, Malta has registered 33,904 COVID-19 cases in total, of which: 30,857 have recovered, 421 died and 2230 are still active.

Mater Dei Hospital is currently treating a total of 37 COVID-19 positive patients, one of which is in the ITU. The average age of yesterday’s cases was 34.

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Huge turnout outside of Parliament as mobile units administer vaccines

Jul 27 2021

Images surfacing online show huge lines of people awaiting to receive their free COVID-19 vaccination outside parliament. The parliament, which just his weekend was circled by anti-vaxx protestors, is now met with what seem to be hundreds of people waiting to receive their jab.

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne posted to Facebook commending the great turnout at the walk-in vaccination clinic. Concerns were raised however as to the apparent lack of social distancing, despite the people being there to receive the jab for immunisation.

Chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency commented on the situation, took to Facebook to comment in the situation, rhetorically asking whether deciding to vaccinate this large amount of people in the Maltese capital city’s main entrances during tourism’s peak season.

He asks whether finding a different location would have eased the confusion in the capital’s entrance as people flock to receive the jab.

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Photo Source: Jason Micallef FB, Chris Fearne FB

Second quarantine hotel in Sliema for unvaccinated tourists

Jul 27 2021

The three-star Sliema Hotel on the seafront has been established by the Malta Tourism Authority as the second quarantine hotel. This follows a call to locate the second abode for quarantined tourists arriving in malta after the Marina Hotel in St George’s Bay was approaching full capacity during the early periods of this month. Run by ST Hotels, the second quarantine is said to provide 70 rooms, with anyone arriving in Malta without an approved vaccine certificate or is unvaccinated will be charged at least €1,400 per room for the 14-days stay.

The accommodation fee does not include food, drink or any other service. Anyone who does not complete the mandatory quarantine period faces a fine which can amount up to €10,000. With government easing the ban on unvaccinated travellers, Maltese residents entering the country without a vaccine certificate must apply for permission to avoid receiving the hefty bill. Under-12s, and those with medical reasons for not being vaccinated, will be allowed to travel using PCR tests taken up to 72 hours before arrival.

Despite seemingly reaching full capacity earlier this month, number of guests at the Corinthia Marina Hotel started to drop as on Monday morning there were 116 recorded occupied rooms out of the hotel’s 200. Hotels with a central location is allegedly preferred, with the property licensed, up to date with arrears and no pending enforcement issues.

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Photo Source: Trip Advisor

650,000 tourists made their way to Malta in 2020

Jul 27 2021

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the total of inbound and domestic tourists making their way to the Malta region amounted to 649,878. A total of inbound tourists amounted for 98.2% of total tourists visiting the region, whereas 388,213 tourists visited the Gozo and Comino region. The statistics revealed by the National Statistics Office show how domestic tourists accounted for 89.8% of total tourism demand within the region.

Domestic tourism consists of activities or resident visitors within the country – meaning Maltese residents visiting Gozo and Comino or vice versa. The tourist must stay for less than 12 consecutive months for personal, business or other purposes. Inbound tourism, conversely, focuses on non-resident visitor activities as they come to the country. Inbound tourists in the country decreased by 76.1% in 2020, totalling 658,567. Despite the total nights spent by in bounds tourists in the country surpassing a whopping 5.2 million, this is a 73% decrease over 2019.

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Photo Source: USNews.com