The arrival of the COVID-19 jab in Malta is the first step on the road to normality, Robert Abela said on Sunday morning, moments after a Mater Dei nurse became the first Maltese to be vaccinated against the virus.
Malta was in pole position at 9am on Sunday morning, at the front of the road to economic recovery, the Prime Minister said in a One Radio interview.
A limited number of people will be vaccinated on Sunday but efforts will be ramped up over the coming weeks and increased tenfold from 2,000 people a week to 20,000. Around 600,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine - enough to inoculate 300,000 people - will be shipped to Malta over the coming weeks.
Addressing party supporters from Castille, Abela said the jabs were “one of the best gifts we could give to the Maltese”.
“Today is a day of hope, courage and belief. The higher the number of vaccinated people, the more likely that the economy will recover.
“We want to increase tourism towards Malta, stimulate the economy and continue backing businesses until they recover… in Europe businesses are closing down but in Malta they are employing more people.”
Abela noted what while the start of the vaccination programme in Malta was a sigh of relief, the government’s work intensified.
'Don't risk losing all we achieve over the past 10 months'
Referring to the past “10-month marathon”, the prime minister said the media initially predicted that dozens of thousands of people will lose their job.
However, following the launch of government financial aid packages, just under 3,000 people are currently seeking employment, he said.
Malta’s mitigation measures had been successful, Abela said, adding that Malta had done well on the economic and health fronts.
Unlike in neighbouring countries, where Christmas Day was one of the toughest as people were only allowed outdoors to acquire essentials, social life went on in Malta, and life continued as close to normal as possible, he added.
The Prime Minister said he believed that Malta will be among the first to recover economically while people’s health will remain protected.
He urged people to remain cautious, as they could otherwise “risk losing all that we have worked for over the past 10 months.