Opposition leader Bernard Grech has blamed Prime Minister Robert Abela for the ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases, saying on Tuesday this was the result of political interference in the work of the health authorities.
Health Minister Chris Fearne refuted the criticism, saying that Malta’s handling of the pandemic had earned the praise of the European director of the World Health Organisation, Hans Kluge.
The exchanges were made during a debate in parliament following a statement by the minister on the current COVID-19 situation in Malta. The statement was requested by the Opposition.
Since the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in Malta in March, 46 persons have died while the number of active infections has exceeded the 1,500 mark.
More than 900 tested positive over the past week, which was more than the total of cases detected between March and July. The escalation prompted criticism that the government was losing control of the situation.
'Contact tracing staff being trebled'
In his ministerial statement, Fearne outlined the measures taken since the start of the outbreak, particularly the upgrading of the health service facilities to cater to the worst-case scenario.
He said that the team carrying out contact tracing is in the process of being almost trebled from 32 to 80 staff, to cater for the rapid increase in cases registered in recent days.
He said that three new ITU wards had been opened, with the total number of beds rising from 20 to 115. The government also bought 81 ventilators, 680 new beds, 26 million pair of gloves, 6.5 million surgical masks and 630,000 sanitizers. Similar measures were also taken at the Gozo General Hospital with 35 new ventilators.
The minister said these figures were testament to the level of preparedness to face the pandemic.
Fearne said a vaccine is expected to be available towards the start of next year. Malta will be among the first batch of countries to receive it.
'PM must stop interfering'
Opposition leader Bernard Grech, in his parliamentary maiden speech, said that the government should reassure the people by always saying the truth.
While commending the government’s decision to upgrade the public healthcare infrastructure and stock up personal protective equipment, he said all the good work done during the first wave of the virus was lost in summer due to political interference.
“As soon as the prime minister took over, the situation went haywire,” Grech told parliament.
“I call on you to stop taking the situation lightly and refrain from further interference,” he appealed to the prime minister.
Grech also criticised the government for sending mixed messages, which he said signalled a lax approach.
'Winter months will not be easy but vaccine not far away'
In his winding-up speech, the health minister criticised the Opposition, saying none of its MPs came up with an alternative approach to the one taken by the government.
Commenting on the ongoing spike in cases, he said this was in line with the trend in the rest of Europe. However, he said that with a higher number of tests per capita were being carried out in Malta, there was a higher probability of positive cases being diagnosed.
Fearne blamed the shortage of nurses on previous Nationalist-led governments whom he said had limited the annual intake of students.
The minister warned that the winter months would not be easy and called for a united front and for the public to abide by the directives being issued by the health authorities.
“The vaccine is not far away. It is a question of months. Let us be responsible especially when Christmas starts approaching,” he said in his final remarks.