VALLETTA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Malta will kickstart a gradual relaxation of measures introduced to control the spread of the pandemic with schools to reopen on Monday followed by non-essential shops and service providers on April 26, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, Abela said that education and the elderly, most of whom have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, will be the priority of the country's reopening plan.
Malta has been in a quasi-lockdown since the beginning of March amid rising infection rates, when the government shut all non-essential businesses, education institutions switched to online learning, and gatherings of more than two people are prohibited. The measures were set to expire on Sunday.
The relaxation of measures was announced at the same time when the health authorities announced 65 new cases of COVID-19 and another death, with the death toll now reaching 400.
The total number of active cases currently stands at 545, while a total of 29,408 cases have been registered since the start of the pandemic in March last year.
Abela said that as from Monday, schools and educational institutions will begin to reopen gradually, starting with childcare centers, kindergartens, and primary schools, while middle schools will reopen on Wednesday and secondary schools on Friday. Post-secondary educational institutions will continue teaching through online learning.
He said another measure introduced in March affecting elective surgeries will be lifted and these procedures will restart at Malta's state hospital. The government was also lifting a ban on visits in home for the elderly where 90 percent of the residents have received both doses of the vaccine.
Non-essential shops and service providers will reopen on April 26 on the same day that the two-person capping on groups in public will double to four.
Religious ceremonies in churches will resume as from April 18, but weddings and mass gatherings were still banned.
Health Minister Chris Fearne told the same press conference that 42 percent of the adult population in Malta has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Regarding concerns on the AstraZeneca vaccine, Fearne said that "there is no doubt that the vaccine works" but the government will be following the advice by the European Medicines Agency. He also said that there were no cases of thrombosis from it in Malta. Enditem
