Five years after Malta recorded the first case of a pandemic that swept the globe, Chris Fearne sat down for a Times Talk podcast to reflect on the successes and the lessons learned.

In the podcast, which will be released Thursday, the former deputy prime minister and health minister says Malta was among the best in the world in managing the deadly virus but acknowledged he could have done things differently in two key areas.

Malta recorded its first COVID-19 case on March 7, 2020, and Fearne recalls the following months were dominated by long days and tough decisions, especially after initial projections indicated the virus would kill 10,000 people in Malta alone.

“We would sleep at 1am and wake up at 5am to do it all over again - to see what had happened during the night. But looking back I don’t feel it was a nightmare," he says.

"We knew what we were doing and we knew many people were making huge sacrifices – in the health system but also the community."

He also addresses doubts about the vaccine and its rollout.

In the podcast, Fearne also raises the alarm on what he describes as "a silent pandemic" which - although different than COVID - required countries' and the media's attention nonetheless.

And he addresses rumours about his return to politics.

The full Times Talk podcast with that interview will be released on Times of Malta, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and on social media on Thursday.