The health authorities have decided to scrap a rule that forced organisers to cap the number of attendees at one person per four square metres, a move that will be a game changer for the entertainment industry.
The change was not announced during a press conference on Thursday by Health Minister Chris Fearne and Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci. Instead, the rule was quietly dropped from the so-called Mandatory Standards and Guidance Documents published on the government’s COVID-19 website.
The update will come into force on August 16, when the number of attendees goes up to 300 before increasing further to 500 two weeks later. All attendees and staff working at the event must be fully vaccinated to be allowed into the venue.
The document that is valid up until August 15 states: “The number of attendees shall not exceed one (1) person per four (4) square metres of the controlled area where the event is to be organised, provided that the maximum capacity of attendees shall be capped not to exceed the number of person stipulated in Table 1.”
The same clause in the document for events taking place from August 16 onwards omits the section detailing how many people should be admitted per four square metres. The four square metre rule is not mentioned anywhere else in the document.
The change will help organisers in their efforts to recover from the pandemic. The move marks the first time since the pandemic hit in March 2020 that attendance to events will not be restricted by space but by the number of attendees.
Sources in the industry said the suggestion to remove the measure was discussed at length with the authorities although they were unaware it had been taken onboard.
They said this will be a “game changer” and a positive step forward as it will provide organisers with the opportunity to hold bigger seated events.
“We have been pushing for this for months,” one source told Times of Malta.
According to the document, audiences will continue to be seated in such a way that each seated group maintains social distancing of at least two metres from other seated groups, except in the case of persons from the same household. No more than six persons will be allowed to sit together in a group.
Industry sources have said this measure is deemed as acceptable by organisers and was actually another of the suggestions put forward.
When contacted, a health ministry spokesperson said: "The distances from persons attending the events which are controlled and for fully vaccinated persons are regulated by distances from seats and any groups as outlined in the standards.
“Audiences shall be seated in such a way that each seated group maintains social distancing of at least two (2) metres from other seated groups and except in the case of persons from the same household and in such case no more than 6 persons shall be allowed to sit together in a group. For seating around a table, no more than 6 persons can be seated except for persons from the same households. A minimum two (2) meter distance shall be kept between performers and patrons," the spokesperson said, quoting the document.
The documents can be accessed on the government's website here.