Ex Eurovision winner Gianluca Bezzina receives Saviour Cilia Award

Jul 2 2022

Dr Gianluca Bezzina, who previously represented Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 in Sweden, has just been awarded the Saviour Cilia Award by the Malta College of Family Doctors.

‘This award is given to the candidate who shows outstanding performance during the MMCFD examination’ the Foundation for Social Welfare Services explained.

‘Dr Bezzina who has been working for the past three years with FSWS, is now following a training programme to specialise further in Addiction Medicine.’

Bezzina, who is a medical doctor, also took on music as a part time passion, quickly rising to local fame after he won the local edition of the Eurovision with the song ‘Tomorrow’. Making it to the final, Bezzina managed to finish in 8th place with a total score of 120 points.

Bezzina’s song “Tomorrow” became the first Maltese Eurovision Song Contest to enter the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 37, for a week.

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78 nurses quit every year due to shortage crisis reveals health minister

Jul 2 2022

Malta is currently experiencing an exodus of nurses from their profession, with around 78 resigning every year from the public health sector since 2017.

The figures were revealed by Health Minister Chris Fearne in response to a parliamentary question tabled by PN MP Ivan Castille.

In 2021, more than 120 nurses left their jobs at Mater Dei Hospital, with many being foreign nationals seeking better jobs in other countries. However, young Maltese nurses are also making such a move. Head of the nursing union, Paul Pace, warned that around 500 nurses left the profession last year.

Apart from staff shortages, the increasing piles of administrative work as well as Malta’s uncompetitive wages are contributing to this mass exodus.

This also came among many directives and calls for action by the union for health authorities to address the issue. When the union attempted to speak out in favour of nursing rights, Pace said that it was instead slapped with a lawsuit.

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Monkeypox cases in Europe tripled in 2 weeks as WHO calls for action

Jul 2 2022

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) European chief warned last Friday that monkeypox cases in the region have tripled in the last two weeks.

The health organisation urged countries to do more to ensure that the previously rare disease does not become entrenched and endemic on the continent.

To date, well over 5000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 51 countries worldwide. The number of infections in Europe represents around 90% of the global total, with 31 countries in Europe having identified cases.

Meanwhile, African health authorities have said that they are treating the growing outbreak as an emergency. They are now calling on rich countries to share limited vaccine supplies to avoid equity problems which were seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Europe chief, said in a statement that the increased efforts were needed, despite the UN health agency’s decision last week deeming the outbreak as not warranting being declared a global health emergency.

Kluge said that urgent and coordinated action is imperative if ‘we are to turn a corner in the race to reverse the ongoing spread of this disease.’ No deaths have thus far been reported, and about 10% of patients were hospitalised for treatment or had to be isolated.

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You will have to pay between €3 to €10 to enter Venice as of January 2023

Jul 2 2022

As of January 16th 2023, visitors to Venice, which is one of Italy’s major tourist hubs, will have to pay to set foot in the city.

Venice is set to become the first city in the world to require an entrance free, with the launch date announced by Venice’s tourism councillor Simone Venturini on Friday.

Venturini called this a great revolution as well as a solution for the over-tourism problem which has been heavily impacting the lagoon city for decades. The costs will range from €3 minimum to €10.

The price will not be fixed, but it will be varying according to the number of visitors. The more requests for entry, the higher the cost will soar. The goal is not to close off the city, the councillor explained, but to get people to book their presence.

This, he argued, will reduce the tourist peaks as Venice ‘is a living city and it has to stay that way.’ However, there are many exceptions to the entrance ticket mandate.

Residents and children under six will be exempt, as well as people with disabilities, home owners, people visiting for health reasons or to visit relatives, or even those coming to attend cultural or sport events.

It was explained that this is not a system to make cash flow but to instead manage tourism flows. The proceeds will go to lowering the taxes of Venetians which are already soaring quite high to manage the volume of tourists. Fines for ticket violations will vary between €50 to €300.

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