Language schools seek governmental aid following ‘unwarranted’ closure

Jul 14 2021

Language schools stated on Wednesday that they have been unfairly singled out because of a unilateral decision in regards to a spike in COVID-19 cases. The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations Malta (FELTOM) stated, hours after the publication of a legal notice closing all language schools, that they are still awaiting a response from the government following a meeting on Tuesday.

FELTOM highlighted how approximately 2,000 direct employees are now at risk of losing their jobs, asking authorities to make this issue the utmost priority. Following the spike in cases being associated to overseas travel and English language schools, the FELTOM members’ reaction was that the decision was unwarranted and disproportionate. The organisation also put forth a number of proposals to be taken up for consideration. Among these are;

To ensure that all staff and students are protected against further infection; to allow for vaccinated adult students to continue to learn in live lessons without further postponement; to outline a rescue package to protect the aforementioned 2,000 jobs from being lost and; to see how best to work with the government to turn what could be a disaster into an image enhancer for the sector, industry and the country itself.

With around 15,000 booking cancellations and around €36 million in revenue loss, the FELTOM highlighted how it had to struggle tirelessly to handle the situation. The organisation still awaits a governmental response in regards to these issues.

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Photo Source: FELTOM FB, Som Thapa Magar

218 COVID-19 cases registered with 0 recoveries

Jul 14 2021

Malta has registered 218 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours from 4,188 swab tests, while 0 patients have recovered. No deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. This information was announced by the official Facebook page of Malta’s Ministry for Health.

As of Tuesday 13th March 2021, 711,973 vaccine doses were administered of which 375,090 were 1st doses. 352,523 people are currently fully vaccinated.

To date, Malta has registered 31,612 COVID-19 cases in total, of which: 30,192 have recovered, 420 died and 1,000 are still active.

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Photo Source: Charmaine Gauci

Appeal to stop speculating over death of 5-year-old girl by family

Jul 14 2021

The cousin of the late 5-year-old girl took to social media to appeal to the public to stop speculating over the cause of her death. Eman Cilia asked people on a public post to stop ‘inventing’ the source of his cousin’s tragic loss, asking everyone to await forensic evidence instead of making up stories. He asked people to respect his family’s privacy and instead of spreading rumours to instead pray for them through this trying time.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Eman said that the family were very much angered that many were rushing to unfounded conclusions. Health Minister Chris Fearne stated that the child had no known underlying health conditions, with her family not testing positive for COVID-19. Fearne promised that authorities will be transparent following autopsy and other experiments as to what caused the death, asking the public to refrain from hypothesising in the mean time.

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Photo Source: Eman Cilia FB, Wikipedia

Lufthansa to utilise gender-neutral greeting aboard planes

Jul 14 2021

Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline group, stated on Tuesday that the greeting ‘ladies and gentlemen’ will be replaced by other gender-neutral alternatives. The change intends to welcome all people, regardless of whether they identify as male or female. A spokesperson told AFP that crews are not being instructed to choose a greeting which includes all passengers. ‘Dear guests’ or a more simplistic ‘good morning/evening’ will be among those used.

The policy will make its way into usage gradually, applying to German flag carrier Lufthansa as well as the group’s Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Eurowings airline extensions. Germany has also delved into the international debate which will see more inclusive language becoming normalised and therefore take into account diverse gender identities. This news follows the decision by Munich, Berlin and Hamburg to stop using the word ‘Schwarzfahren’ (black riding) for ticket-less travelling due to having racist implications.

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Photo Source: AIRLIVE