Clayton Bartolo speaks out on Malta not making it on UK’s green list

Jun 4 2021

Following the news that Malta did not make it onto the UK’s green list once again, Tourism and Consumer Protection Minister Clayton Bartolo spoke out about how this will play into Malta’s plans to boost its tourism economy. He stated that the news was a big disappointment for the sector, especially when one considers that Malta is the only country in Europe to have reached herd immunity, is far ahead in its vaccination rollout and has the lowest infection rates in the EU.

The Minister however also acknowledged that this decision was not caused by Malta itself as the country did, and is still doing, everything to better its own pandemic situation. The UK has removed more countries from the green list following an increase of cases in the past few days. Despite not making it onto the UK’s green list, Malta did experience a demand in flights from other countries such as France and Germany.

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Photo Source: Clayton Bartolo FB

New remote working policy to be introduced in coming weeks

Jun 4 2021

Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar stated that the government will be introducing a new policy related to remote working in the upcoming weeks. Cutajar commended public officers’ work on keeping Malta going during such troubling times, and went on to state that the requirements of Public Service and employees need to be met in balance. Remote working will be a crucial tool in this change, with departments being able to work away from the office.

Cutajar acknowledged that this will require a lot of training and a bigger investment in technology. With people being placed at the centre of strengthening Public Service, he went on to say that the five year strategy put in place will see to delivering a level of excellence and opportunity for employees to contribute at every level.

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Photo Source: publicservice.gov.mt, Ekaterina

First Indian COVID-19 variant case found in Malta

Jun 4 2021

Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci confirmed today during a COVID-19 briefing that Malta has found its first case of the Indian variant. The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617, was found in the latest batch of cases, with the variant being isolated during the genomic sequencing. The situation is currently under investigation as the majority of cases in Malta are UK variants (B.1.1.7) or variants of no concern.

Alongside the 30 cases of Brazilian variant and 6 cases of the South African variant, Malta currently has 74 active cases and a total of 30,559 cases registered ever since the pandemic began. Tourism in Malta has also opened on 1st June as the islands prepare for a summer to boost the economy.

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Photo Source: Charmaine Gauci FB, CDC

Increase in travel demand from French and German tourists for AirMalta

Jun 4 2021

National airline AirMalta has been experiencing a massive spike in travelling demand from German and French tourists ever since tourism reopened on 1st June. The surge forced the airline to change its route schedule, with daily flights to Paris scheduled for July. This comes as a sort of consolation following the damage COVID-19 dealt to tourism and travelling.

Interviewed by TVM, Air Malta Executive Chairman David Curmi pointed out that the increase in demands has also lead to flights to Germany and France being fully booked. Flights no longer on AirMalta’s flying schedule are Cagliari, Ibiza, Malaga, Tel Aviv and Moscow. This, as stated by Curmi, will let Air Malta focus on 20 routes and therefore save millions in Euros.

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Photo Source: AirMalta