Marsa’s local council has asked for internet availability in public areas to be switched off, to discourage people from gathering in public during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the council said that it wanted to see greater enforcement of rules to ensure fewer people milled around Marsa’s streets and public gardens. 

Authorities have prohibited public gatherings of five or more people, and the police have been empowered to break up any crowds larger than five. The measures are intended to enforce social distancing guidelines required to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

To discourage people from loitering in public, Marsa’s local council on Monday wrote to the department of local councils to urge them to switch off public internet services temporarily. 

The council says it will also be increasing signage on benches and in gardens urging people to stay home, and asked authorities to introduce quotas for the maximum number of people allowed inside shops at any one time.  

Marsa mayor Josef Azzopardi had already expressed concern about overcrowding in public last week, when he urged authorities to lock down the country to force everyone indoors.