COVID-positive mothers will no longer give birth on their own, and if their partner is in quarantine, they would still be able to accompany them during childbirth.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Monday that expectant mothers who test positive for the virus will now be allowed one other person in the ward during childbirth. 

And if their partner is in mandatory quarantine but has no COVID symptoms, they can remain in the same room with the expectant mother throughout the whole process.

In such cases, they need to get permission beforehand by emailing quarantine.covid19@gov.mt

For some time now, expectant parents have been calling on the health authorities to remove the remaining COVID restrictions stopping some fathers from attending childbirth, resulting in the mothers giving birth alone.

During the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 partners could only be present during the ‘pushing’ stage of delivery. This was eventually eased to generally allow fathers to be present for the birth..

The minister was speaking at a visit to St Vincent de Paule hospital for the elderly, where residents are receiving a second vaccine booster to protect them against COVID.

Around 4,000 elderly home residents will receive the jab this month. The authorities are also issuing jab invitations to some 17,000 people aged over 80 who live in the community and 6,000 people living with immunocompromised conditions. 

A further 2,000 elderly people who live in the community but are bedbound will be vaccinated at home. They will be contacted for an appointment by phone in the coming days.