Three out of every 10 professionals who took part in a survey about the impact of COVID-19 said that during the last two weeks of March they had worked longer hours than they usually do.

Around 72 percent of them felt more stressed out and should the current situation persist for a further two months, a third believe that their level of stress will increase.

The Malta Federation of Professional Associations carried out the survey during the first week of April to get a clearer picture of the difficulties that professionals were facing. 

Answering questions about their working place, 87.2% of the 1,163 participants said they normally have face to face contact with clients: two thirds of all respondents work in clinics, hospitals, or pharmacies.

A third said they believed they were at high risk of being infected with the virus.

Asked whether they had suffered financial losses during the last two weeks of March, nearly all - 96.9% - of self-employed professionals reported they suffered a loss.

Some 70% of those who are self-employed reported a loss of more than 50% of their usual income.

When asked whether financial packages announced by the government will be of help, 62.7% of the self-employed reported that none of the packages applied to them, 25.8% did not know and only 11.5% said they could benefit from state aid.

The survey also looked into what professionals think could help them out.

Seven out of every ten of self-employed respondents suggested tax credits as compensation. Other proposals included reducing utility bills, increasing health allowance and subsidising salaries.

Demographics

• 65 %were healthcare professionals
• The majority were women (56%)
• Nearly half were employed, 17.7% employed and with part-time private practice while 33.6% self-employed
• More than half were aged under 40 and a third had children aged younger than 15