COVID-19 booster doses for ages 45 and over announced as cases increase by 40

Nov 5 2021

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne announced that healthcare workers, carers and teachers will start receiving their COVID-19 booster doses as from Monday while individuals aged 45 and over will start to receive their booster shots as from December.

In today’s COVID-19 update, it was revealed that 40 new COVID-19 cases were found in the past 24 hours with 13 recoveries. Nine patients are currently being treated at Mater Dei Hospital, with three of them being in the Intensive Treatment Unit.

No deaths were reported, with Malta’s COVID-19 death toll currently standing at 462 while active cases stand at 298.

Have you taken your booster shot yet?

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Europe at epicentre of COVID-19 pandemic despite vaccination, WHO says

Nov 5 2021

Top brass at the World Health Organization have stated that Europe is at the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the continent’s current supply of vaccines. Europe has reportedly seen a jump of over 50% in COVID-19 cases with countries like the Netherlands tightening restrictions due to spikes in cases.

During a recent press briefing WHO emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan stated that while many vaccines are available, the uptake of said vaccines has not been equal. Dr. Ryan went on to call for European authorities to close the vaccination gap while WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stated that countries which have immunised over 40% of their population should donate their available vaccines to countries whose citizens have not yet had an opportunity to receive their first dose.

Dr. Tedros called upon pharmaceutical companies to prioritise COVAX supply, the United Nations-backed initiatives to share vaccine doses across the globe.

Over 60 countries have began their booster dose distribution to strengthen immunity ahead of winter, with another wave of COVID-19 being expected. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) head of clinical studies and manufacturing task force Fergus Sweeney has highlighted the importance that everyone receives their vaccination or completes their doses “because we are not all protected until everyone is protected in that respect.”

What do you make of this?

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PN candidate Emma Portelli Bonnici slams abusive comments & online hate speech

PN candidate slams abusive comments & online hate speech

Nov 5 2021

Following the announcement of her candidacy with the Nationalist Party, candidate Emma Portelli Bonnici turned quite a few heads due to her progressive values in a party which is otherwise considered quite conservative. While her positions on a number of national social issues were welcomed with open arms, others resorted to hate speech and abusive comments to voice their disagreement with the PN candidate.

Portelli Bonnici took to Facebook to highlight that while she may not be ‘to everyone’s taste’, she will work for everyone if elected, going on to slam the string of hateful comments made in her regard. “Many people – mostly men – have seemingly made it their mission to hurt me; to have me exiled from Partit Nazzjonalista to evoke some kind of ‘negative’ reaction from me; to continuously attempt to drag my name through the mud and say absolutely vile – and mostly untrue – things about me online,” she stated in a lengthy Facebook post.

She also went to highlight how such hate speech, instigation of violence are not only immoral but criminal acts, concluding her post by stating that it is no longer time for sexist attacks, witch hunts and abuse buy “time to once and for all cleanse politics from symptoms of the Puritan Age and 1600s Salem.”

What do you make of this?

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100% humidity & warm temperatures due to substantial rainfall

Nov 5 2021

Malta has experienced a peculiar stretch of weather conditions over the past few days, with the month of October being particularly wet due to high humidity levels, which levels reached 100 per cent over the past week.

Seven of eight weather stations registered a 100 per cent humidity level on Friday morning, with the high humidity levels being cause by moderate to strong-blowing Southern winds.

The Maltese Islands’ air is saturated with water, which comes as a result of the substantial amount of rainfall during October. While the ground remains saturated with rain, evaporated water is released into the air and causes humidity levels to increase. The 100 per cent humidity level is common for Malta due to the islands being surrounded by water.

Forecasts expect temperatures to reach 26°C highs on Friday and 27°C highs on Saturday.

What do you think of this weather?

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