A handwritten notice announcing temporary close is seen outside a shop in Valletta, Malta, on March 17, 2020. Malta has announced the closure of all bars, restaurants, gymnasia, clubs, gaming parlours and any other places of entertainment which attract crowds as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday. (Photo by Jonathan Borg/Xinhua)
VALLETTA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Malta has announced the closure of all bars, restaurants, gymnasia, clubs, gaming parlours and any other places of entertainment which attract crowds as a measure to curb the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday.
He said that places where people gather socially, also including cinemas and bingo clubs, will have to close as from 12:00 midnight on Tuesday as the government tightens restrictive measures to stop the contagion.
Schools, the university and other educational institutions have already been closed since last week. Takeaway outlets and food delivery services offered by restaurants are not affected by this ban, but no sit-down meals can be served inside.
Over the weekend, the government ordered that anyone arriving by air and by sea had to spend two weeks in mandatory quarantine. Police are carrying out spot-checks to ensure that these people stay home. So far, five people have been caught contravening the orders, so the government tripled the fine to 3,000 euros (3,350 U.S. dollars) as a harsher deterrent.
Abela urged Maltese nationals who are overseas to return to their home country as soon as possible, while urging tourists to leave the country.
"These are not the best of times but the more we cooperate, the sooner we will get out of this crisis," Abela said.
The announcement was made hours after the health authorities confirmed that another nine people had contracted the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 30.
Health Minister Chris Fearne stressed the importance of controlling the flow of the virus over a longer period of time rather than face a "tsunami" of patients at one go. He said that "social distancing" was of utmost importance at this stage and urged people, especially the elderly and the most vulnerable, to stay indoors to avoid contact with people carrying the virus.