ONE TV presenter Manuel Micallef has taken down a Facebook post in which he hypothesised whether an “African immigrant” on his deathbed should be eligible for the last available ventilator in a hospital. 

“An emergency decision: There is only one ventilator left at hospital. Two patients need it. It is a matter of life or death. One patient is an elderly family member of yours, the other a 21-year-old African immigrant. Who gets the last ventilator?,” the original post read. 

Micallef's post, which has since been removed.

The post was immediately met with anger from Micallef’s Facebook followers, so much so that it was soon “updated” to assure it was not meant to be racist. 

Micallef said he had been contacted by people who respect him, telling him the post could be misinterpreted or taken in bad taste. 

He said the felt the need to put up the Facebook post just to make people understand the difficult decisions being faced by the health authorities and the prime minister. 

“I pray for him and I support him”, Micallef said of the prime minister. 
Micallef ended his post by saying he did not intend to instigate any racism. 

The post has since been removed. 

Micallef is the father of Labour's newest MP, Jean Claude Micallef. 

Over the weekend, the government announced it was closing Malta’s ports to asylum seekers, following a similar decision taken by Italy. 

All 1,000 residents at the cramped Ħal Far open centre have been placed under mandatory quarantine, after eight migrants tested positive for COVID-19.