Church schools to shift to online learning for next few days

Jan 6 2021

Following the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, the Secretariat for Catholic Education (SfCE) consulted with Malta’s Church Schools Association (CSA) and decided that Church Schools will be shifting to online learning until Friday 8th January.

It was reported that the measure may be extended up until Wednesday 13th January if the trend persists and numbers remain high until Sunday 10th January.

The decision was taken in the best interests of the staff and students and family members’ health and safety and while being a precautionary measure, it will prevent individuals and groups from being sent into quarantine while maintaining educational progress.

#MaltaDaily

Moderna vaccine gets green light from European Union

Jan 6 2021

Following previous reports of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine being close to authorisation, the Moderna vaccine has finally been given the green light and will start to be rolled out in the coming days.

Good news for our efforts to bring more #COVID19 vaccines to Europeans!
@EMA_News assessed that the @moderna_tx vaccine is safe & effective.

Now we are working at full speed to approve it & make it available in the EU.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 6, 2021

In today’s public health conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne reiterated that both doses of the vaccine should be taken 4 weeks apart and will contribute to Malta’s progress towards normality.

#MaltaDaily

Prof. Gauci reveals the three main reasons behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases

Jan 6 2021

In today’s health conference addressing the current COVID-19 situation in Malta, Superintendent for Public Health Professor Charmaine Gauci addressed the main potential issues behind the recent surge in cases which are 3 main factors.

The first being the drop in temperature due to the winter season as the virus’ particles will remain infectious longer as the temperature gets colder.

The second being “festi”, referring to the Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations occurring behind closed doors, with Health Minister Chris Fearne suggesting a ‘lack of discipline’ and does not exclude a similar pattern in the coming days.

Finally, the spread of the coronavirus variant emerging recently, with the first Maltese case of the variant popping up only a few days ago – Prof. Gauci revealed that we will understand the reason behind the surge in cases in the next few days.

#MaltaDaily

Teachers union urges government to keep schools closed

Jan 6 2021

In a statement posted to Facebook earlier today, the Malta Union of Teachers reported that the Ministry of Education was urged to keep schools closed by the Health Authorities, advice which was not taken to heart as schools are scheduled to continue as scheduled.

The union expressed its disagreement with the ‘business-as-usual’ attitude adopted by the Education Ministry and feels that it should protect its educators and students.

The MUT issues a formal request to the government to keep schools and warns of consequences down the line.

#MaltaDaily