Dingli school yard becomes winter wonderland after hail storm

Jan 11 2022

It’s not a common phenomenon for Malta but yesterday, Dingli Secondary School – St. Nicholas College uploaded some images of their school yard covered in white hail.

The school described it as a winter wonderland which followed a sudden hailstorm yesterday morning. With the hail blending in with white walls, the photos do actually resemble something similar to what other countries accustomed to snow experience quite normally.

But for Malta, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean and notorious for its heat waves, such phenomena are one off delight.

The post was met with surprised reactions and delight by many, especially the school staff who shared the photos and exclaimed their surprise at the unusual sight.

If you’re wondering about the upcoming weather, 7 day forecasts predict isolated showers and cloudy skies for the rest of the week. No more hail storms are expected but rain fall seems more likely towards the weekend.

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Malta with the highest booster shot rollout and lowest hospitalisations in EU

Jan 11 2022

Malta registered the fastest COVID-19 booster rollout among the European Union members on Monday 10th January 2022.

According to the latest figures posted on Saħħa’s Facebook page, Malta also ranked just above the UK, Ireland and Israel in terms of vaccine boosters administered per 100 people.

Among the lowest are Latvia (at the bottom), followed by Slovakia and Poland.

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Chris Fearne took to social media to announce Malta’s highest booster and lowest hospitalisation rates in all of Europe.

He quoted the data to highlight how the booster works and encouraged everyone to take their jab when it’s their turn.

As of yesterday, 1,133,334 doses of the vaccine were administered, 278,153 of which were all boosters. This also comes amidst a significant spike in cases, with active cases ranking at 14,053.

However, Malta only has 7 people out of 131 hospitalised people in Intensive Care Units. Malta also registered 542 recoveries yesterday 10th January 2022, with one death bringing up the total to 489.

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Malta Chamber of SMEs calls for end of quarantine for contacts & 5 days for positive cases

Jan 10 2022

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has called for the end of required quarantine for vaccinated individuals who come into contact with positive cases. They have also proposed a reduced quarantine of 5 days for people who test positive.

Symptomatic people would be required to remain at home until they are free of symptoms and a minimum of 24 hours after they last register a fever. These same individuals would not need to be tested for COVID-19 before exiting quarantine. These proposals come as a result of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations and while stating that the Chamber has “no intention of doing the health authorities’ job,” they have remarked that such rules have disrupted business to a point of detriment.

The Chamber also highlighted that the WHO warned the public not let their guard down since the Omicron variant is spreading dangerously fast, appealing to the authorities to remain adamant on regulation and quarantine enforcement.

What do you make of this?

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Malta’s airport calls for change to vaccine certificate regulations

Jan 10 2022

In a new statement, Malta International Airport urged health authorities to reconsider the new vaccine certificate rules which are set to come into effect next week.

The statement said that the regulations put an unnecessary burden on Maltese residents, putting the airport as well at a significant disadvantages to others in the EU.

As of January 17th, Malta plans on making its vaccine certificates valid for only three months from the second dose instead of the nine month period set out by the European Commission.

The three month rule has come under fire from the EU, which stated that it breaches its rules. For those who had the booster shot, a nine-month period will be given until the certificate expires.

The statement said that given how Malta is the only member state which shortened the validity period of certificates, the Superintendent for Public Health has imposed ‘an unnecessary hurdle for Maltese residents to travel, together with undermining consumer confidence for the tourism industry during this already very challenging winter period.’

The MIA urged authorities to halt the introduction of these ‘unnecessary’ and ‘haphazard’ restrictions as they go against the ‘spirit of the European Union to facilitate free movement.’

#MaltaDaily