COVID-19 isolation period cut by half for asymptomatic patients in the US

Dec 28 2021

On Monday, health authorities in the United States announced that the recommended isolation period for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients has been cut by half.

This means that isolation was cut from 10 to five days, which allows people to return to their everyday lives sooner and consequently decreasing the strain on labour forces across the US. President Joe Biden stated that Americans should not panic in light of the recent surge in cases, warning that it could create further social disruption. He went on to state that while some US hospitals may become “overrun”, the are well-prepared it handle the latest surge of cases.

The isolation recommendations, issued by the CDC are non-binding but followed by businesses and policymakers across the United States. They go on to suggest five days of mask-wearing when around others. Such guidelines are reportedly backed by scientific thinking, which notes that most COVID-19 transmissions occur in the early stages of contract COVID-19. This refers to one or two days prior to the onset of symptoms and in two to three days after.

Should Malta cut its COVID-19 isolation period for asymptomatic patients by half?

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Retired medical practitioners asked to head back to work in public sector

Dec 28 2021

The Health Ministry has called upon retired medical professionals to return for work in the public sector.

This call for medical professionals was issued in the Government Gazette and is aimed at workers who have already retired or workers who are close to retirement. It is being reported that the reason for such an initiative from the Superintendence for Public Health comes in light of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and lack of workers in the public health sector.

In one of the calls issued, it was explained that returning workers would report to the Superintendence on a full-time or part-time basis, where their primary role would be the investigation of COVID-19 cases, contract tracing and assisting persons who would have to quarantine.

Last week, University students studying science and medicine were called upon to help with contact tracing, amongst other things.

Today, Malta registered a record-high 1,298 daily cases while 82 individuals are in hospital and 5 in the ITU.

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Police issue 206 fines related to breaching of COVID-19 measures over past week

Dec 28 2021

Over the past week, the Malta Police Force has issued 206 fines in relation to individuals who were found breaking Malta’s current COVID-19 measures. That is 3 more than the pat week, where 203 fines were issued.

The police announced this via their official Facebook, where in one case, Birkirkara district police arrested a man who not only disobeyed COVID-19 regulations but spat on the Police officer and failed from following orders.

Moreover, The Community Policing Team has registered 400 hours of community watch and 100 kilometres of travel on their e-bikes, which is slightly less than last week’s 610 hours and 260 kilometres.

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Missing man referred to as ‘Mr. X’ identified as workplace death; met with wave of hateful comments

Dec 28 2021

It seems like workplace injuries and deaths are increasing across Malta in recent months, with the latest heart-breaking workplace casualty potentially shedding on the critical situation Malta is dealing with at the moment.

The man previously referred to as ‘Mr. X’ by nurses due to the lack of identifying documentation was identified as 39-year-old Somali Ahmed Adawe Diriye, a Birzebbugia resident who fell one storey and a half while installing solar panels in a Marsa factory. After the Malta Police Force had issued a call for the missing man, authorities had realised that he had in fact died days prior due to serious injuries from the workplace incident. This comes after a similar case, that of 32-year-old Jaiteh Lamin, where the Ghanian worker fell one storey in Mellieha and was left injured on the side of the road.

To literally add insult to injury, a number of Maltese commenters on various social media sites began to post a number of racist and hateful comments in light of Ahmed’s death, with Maltese commenter Daniel Muscat shedding light on the cold-hearted nature of such comments as the population worries about ‘false numbers’ instead of what is missing in their hearts.

What do you make of this story?

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