COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted gradually to avert the risk of undoing the good work done in the past few weeks to contain the virus, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Thursday.
Replying to questions on the interview programme Xtra on TVM, Abela said one was tempted to lift restrictions quickly as the number of infections dropped.
But what was needed was a prudent approach of lifting restrictions gradually and monitoring infection numbers as one went along. One could then lift further restrictions, or even reintroduce some of them.
Lifting restrictions too quickly could risk undoing all the good work done so far to contain the virus, he warned.
As for reopening the airport, he said much depended on the situation abroad, with one possibility being a gradual opening to flights from selected airports.
'We never let a boat in distress sink'
Abela defended his government's recent decisions on migration and stressed that Malta never let a boat in distress sink.
The government, he said, had made it clear that Malta's harbours were closed - to everyone including tourists - and Malta could not guarantee its resources for rescues amid the COVID-19 emergency.
But that did not mean that international obligations to coordinate rescues were not observed. Should any boat be in danger of sinking in Malta's rescue zone, Malta would coordinate its rescue, a duty other EU countries also had, he said.
No comment about accusations against NGOs
Asked for his views on claims that those rescuing migrants, including NGOs, were in cahoots with human traffickers, Abela said there was no doubt there were criminal groups organising migrant crossings in Libya.
As to whether the NGOs were participants in such an organisation, he said he would not comment but leave it to up to the public to decide.
Review of building practices concluded
Earlier in the interview, Abela said a review of building industry practices launched in the wake of the Ħamrun house collapse tragedy in March had been completed.
The review was conducted by a committee, chaired by retired judge Lawrence Quintano, which Abela appointed a few days after a residence collapsed into a construction site, killing 54-year-old mother Miriam Pace. An architect, a site technical officer, a contractor and a construction worker having been taken to court and accused of involuntary homicide.
The prime minister did not go into detail on the committee’s findings but said changes were needed in the construction sector, regulations needed to be observed and ‘cowboys’ needed to be reined in. However the majority of operators were responsible people, he said.
One could not tolerate incidents which put neighbours of construction sites in danger, he insisted. Methods and practices, particularly in excavation works, needed to change. In his view, some changes were also needed in some matters, such as aesthetics.
Abela, however, twice underlined the importance of the construction sector for the economy, especially in the new post-COVID-19 reality.
In the coming weeks, as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, tourism, one of the major revenue earners, would be idle, he said.
"We therefore cannot go to a situation of killing off other sectors. Still, we need to act responsibly. We cannot have development which is uncontrolled, dangerous, or flouts regulations just to ensure there is economic recovery."
Touching on other points, Abela said that although he disagreed with the PN proposal for the police commissioner to be appointed with the backing of two-thirds of parliament, he still hoped that agreement would be reached with the opposition on the appointment, in the same way as was done for the appointment of the chief justice.