More COVID-19 positive foreign students repatriated from Malta to France

Jul 22 2021

Malta prepares to fly COVID-19 positive foreign students back home on Thursday afternoon on a medical flight to France. Revealed by Times of Malta, the special Boeing 737 place will fly around 128 patients to France in order to let them recover in their home country. Chartered by the Malta Tourism Authority, the flight will be operated by ASL Airlines France which also specialises in sanitary and medical flights.

Aside from knowledge of this specific flight, there is currently no information on whether similar flights are being planned. An MTA spokesman reported that around 200 other students had already been repatriated in two flights Monday and Tuesday. These had tested negative for the virus however, despite some being in quarantine. The spokesperson was also not allowed to reveal the cost of the flights, stating that the information was commercially sensitive.

The spokesperson revealed that the students being repatriated who are positive will not be mixed on the medical aircraft with those who tested negative. More than 500 of the active cases in Malta are students having come to the island to learn English. The first 58 Italian students repatriated described their return home as the end of a nightmare. At least a quarter of the country’s active COVID-19 cases are among young students from abroad, with around 40% of those infected reportedly asymptotic.

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Photo Source: ASL Airlines France, Times of Malta

Bernard Grech ups Malta’s FATF white-listing 18 month target to 3 if PN is elected

Jul 22 2021

Opposition Leader Bernard Grech stated that, should the Nationalist Party win the next general election, Malta will be back on the white-list within a matter of just 90 days. After permanent secretary Alfred Camilleri, whose task it is to get Malta off the grey-list, released a statement claiming that Malta can get onto the white-list in 18 months, the Nationalist Party released a statement cutting the target to 3 months.

The PN warned that the Labour Party’s 18-month plan is too long for Malta, with Grech stating that Robert Abela does not have faith in his own government to ‘clean up our country’s reputation.’ The PN’s statement recalled the outcry to set up a National Task Force which involves experts and politicians alike to make the necessary changes.

The statement also says that the Nationalist Party will give the credibility which, according to the opposition, the Labour Party lacks. It claims that Prime Minister Robert Abela is not listening to the public’s cry, and that since he formed part of a cabinet led by a man voted to be the most corrupt politician in the world (referring to Joseph Muscat), Abela will simply ‘believe’ the grey-listing issue will fix itself.

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Photo Source: Bernard Grech FB, Nomadic Matt

Hamrun Spartan’s Matthew Guillaumier named player of the year

Jul 22 2021

Hamrun Spartans’ very own midfielder Matthew Guillaumier has been named the Malta Football Association’s Footballer of the Year for the 2020-21 season. The Maltese international player was awarded during the MFA Annual General Meeting as he celebrated an outstanding season of excellent performance on the football pitch.

As Hamrun won their first Premier League title in 30 years and went on an unbeaten streak, Guillaumier was featured in the team’s impressive campaign which saw the team dominate the awards yesterday evening. Mark Buttigieg also won Coach of the Year, joined by Jorge Ailton Soares who was awarded Foreign Player of the Year. Alexander Satariano’s move from Sliema Wanderers to Serie B side Frosinone did not go unnoticed either as he was awarded Young Player of the Year.

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Photo Source: Malta Football Association FB, Hamrun Spartans FB

Two Pfizer and AstraZeneca doses effective against Delta variant

Jul 22 2021

A new study published on Wednesday showed how two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine are nearly as effective against the Delta variant as they are the previously dominant Alpha variant. Despite stating that one shot of the vaccines is not enough for high protection, two doses are confirmed to provide significant safety against the virus.

The study found that two Pfizer doses were 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from the Delta variant, compared to 93.7% effectiveness against the Alpha variant. AstraZeneca registered at 67% effectiveness against the Delta whilst being 74.5% effective against the Alpha. One Pfizer shot was registered as 36% effective, whilst AstraZeneca reached a 30% effectiveness.

The authors of the study reported that their findings of ‘reduced effectiveness after the first dose support efforts to maximise vaccine uptake with two doses among vulnerable groups in the context of circulation of the Delta variant.’

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Photo Source: The Guardian