A man arrives at a hall at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology in Paola, Malta, on March 11, 2021. The Maltese government on Wednesday announced the closure of schools and non-essential shops in response to a spike in new COVID-19 cases, almost two-thirds of which are attributable to the variant first reported in the UK. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
VALLETTA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The Maltese government on Wednesday announced the closure of schools and non-essential shops in response to a spike in new COVID-19 cases, almost two-thirds of which are attributable to the variant first reported in the UK.
Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the new restrictions at a press conference after the number of new infections hit 510 in a 24-hour span, setting a new record for the fourth time in the past two weeks.
The new measures, which will be in force until April 11, include the closure of all non-essential shops and those providing non-essential services such as hairdressers and beauticians while the limitation of group gatherings in public down to a maximum of four people.
Schools will close as from Monday, with all lessons and lectures shifting online. All organized sports have also been stopped while pools, gymnasiums, museums, theaters and cinemas must also close.
Travel by ferry to Malta's sister island, Gozo, will be restricted to people who own property on the island or else for essential travel.
Weddings and religious ceremonies, which until last week were permitted, have now been banned, except for funerals which will be held with restrictions presently in place.
These restrictions are added to those announced last week when Abela ordered the closure of the country's restaurants along with clubs, cafeterias, bars and places of entertainment, also until April 11.
"The aim of these measures is first and foremost to ease the pressure on the health services, reduce the spread of infection and increase the rate of vaccination," Abela said.
Health Minister Chris Fearne said the variant of coronavirus first detected in the UK was now the predominant virus in Malta, accounting for more than 60 percent of new cases. He said the variant is more infectious and had contributed to the surge in cases.
To date, the country has reported a total of 25,357 COVID-19 cases since the first case was registered on March 7, 2020. Of them, 21,838 have recovered. Currently, Malta has 3,182 active cases. Daily newspaper Times of Malta reported on Wednesday that 12 percent of active cases are children.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in an increasing number of countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines. As of Wednesday, Malta had vaccinated 105,416 people.
Meanwhile, 263 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 81 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain, and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Tuesday. Enditem
