Street art has become the latest medium to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic as a new mural depicting world leaders running from the virus appeared over the weekend at the Msida Skatepark. 

The work by artist James Micallef Grimaud, better known as Twitch, depicts US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Minster Giuseppe Conte being chased by an anthropomorphised coronavirus with it's maw stretching into a sinister leer. 

The leaders are fleeing on a chariot pulled by rats, symbolising the Chinese Year of the Rat, while President Trump can be seen injecting the British Prime Minister with a special 'detergent vaccine'. 

France and Italy were among the worst-hit European nations at the start of the pandemic but have gradually peaked and controlled the spread of the virus. 

The French emerged from an eight-week lockdown on Monday as the government lifted some restrictions that had been in place since March 17. 

People may now leave their homes without written justification and gatherings of up to 10 people are now permitted. 

With over 30,000 people succumbing to the virus in Italy, the number of recoveries continues to jump as new cases gradually decrease. 

Authorities are looking into easing restrictions, with retail outlets set to be allowed to reopen a week from today and bars and restaurants on June 1. 

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

On Sunday, Boris Johnson's address to the British public also heralded an easing of restrictions in the UK, encouraging people to go back to work while "staying alert". 

The UK government's message was criticized as lacking clarity and at odds with policies across the rest of the union's nations, as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all extended lockdown measures till May 28. 

Meanwhile the US is seeing its number of active cases climbing daily, while President Trump is urging states to reopen. Several senior members of the White House staff have tested positive for COVID-19, seeming to prove the administration unable to keep the virus at bay.

An off-hand comment by Trump posturing whether cleaning detergent could be injected or ingested to fight off the virus in the human body was widely mocked and even prompted a response from a leading US detergent brand warning costumers not to inject their products. 

Trump maintains that his comments were misconstrued by the media and were made sarcastically. 

Twitch is a muralist whose works are known to be biting and political. He has been commissioned to work on murals abroad and is perhaps best known for painting a crane at Dock 6 to resemble a giraffe.