The Malta College of Pathologists has called for the reintroduction and enforcement of social distancing saying this was not the time for cosmetic measures.

In a statement on Tuesday, it said Malta had gone from being the poster child of European COVID-19 success to the quarantine list of an increasing number of countries.

The situation was now spiralling out of control and urgent measures needed to be taken to try and remedy the situation.

The college said it fully endorses endorsed the Medical Association of Malta’s position that all mass gatherings must be prohibited.

“By mass gatherings we mean anything above 10 people."

It said it was only a matter of time before this wave of COVID-19 infections was followed by increased hospitalisation rates and deaths.

“This is not scaremongering; it is the basic characteristic of the epidemiology of COVID-19,” it said.

The college said that, apart part from the prohibition of mass gatherings, social distancing must be strictly reintroduced and enforced.

“Many restaurants have completely abandoned the rules of social distancing.   The wearing of masks in public places where social distancing is not possible must be strongly enforced, ideally as a legal obligation.

“Working from home must, once again, be encouraged. The elderly and vulnerable must remain inside as much as possible, as, in the absence of a vaccine, they are especially vulnerable to infection due the expected rise in the number of asymptomatic infected persons,” it said.

The college appealed to all who are awaiting testing to isolate themselves until their test result was known.

If the situation deteriorated further, it said, the authorities would also need to seriously consider swabbing all people flying to Malta, it said.