Kristina Abela took three perspectives from the public on the government’s recent handling of the pandemic. Could it have done better?

Political rhetoric insinuating the country was getting back to normal was the wrong message to be sending at a time when the pandemic  was causing so much hardship, 66-year-old Josephine Attard told Times of Malta.

“When the prime minister said it would be business as usual in May, he was saying that to young people who are already relaxed about what is going on,” she said.

“It really made me angry because this pandemic is a nightmare as I’m constantly worrying about people close to me who are also vulnerable because of their age or health.”

In January, Prime Minister Robert Abela confidently announced the country was on track to normality following the arrival of the vaccine.

Business as usual was the wrong message

This month, however, with the country recording one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the world, he changed tack and announced a four-week shutdown.

Attard believes that better enforcement preventing people from routinely meeting in big groups could have kept cases in check. “Rather than close down cafes, restaurants and shops, which were following regulations, first they should have stopped these big gatherings.

“I know they were happening all the time because my daughter would tell me about them,” she said.

Attard also said the restrictive measures should have been implemented earlier, once the cases had started to increase, “because people aren’t disciplined enough to take precautions to stop the spread of the virus”.

While she acknowledges some people are struggling economically, she doesn’t believe it works to put the interests of the economy  before people’s health.

“Without your health what is money? I believe health needs to be put before everything,” she said.

‘The prime minister did the best he could’

If people are intent on socialising, the prime minister can do what he will but he won’t be able to keep them inside, Claire Spiteri, 46, told Times of Malta.

“Restrictions or no restrictions, people still met up during carnival and New Year at house parties and they will continue to do so,” the mother of one said.

Spiteri, who preferred not to be photographed, believes Robert Abela did the best he could to keep the economy going and, while people have been calling for a shutdown for some time, they overlook the repercussions of such a move on the economy.

“It’s easy enough to call for a shutdown for a year if you want to please people but we would be paying for it for decades to come,” she said.

Were the authorities’ messages proclaiming the country was on the road to normality giving the go-ahead for people to relax? Spiteri said that at no point did the authorities stop warning people about the need to take precautions.

“It’s true Abela was telling us business will be back to usual in May but, if you listened, Charmaine Gauci and Chris Fearne were always warning us to be careful. I would always visit my mum with a mask on and keep my distance from her.”

“I kept taking precautions, but there are other people who just don’t care,” she said.

Spiteri said that what the authorities could have done better was to have stronger enforcement, although this alone would not have been enough. “People need to take responsibility. It is impossible for the police to be present everywhere and at people’s houses,” she said.

Giulia Zambaldo and Aleksandar Josifov in their cafe Pole Pole in Pietà.

‘Households should have been targeted straightaway’ 

The restrictive measures limiting households from mixing came too late and should have been implemented at the same time as restrictions were placed on catering establishments,  Giulia Zambaldo, 33, told Times of Malta.

“From the beginning, not enough emphasis was put on the importance of people not mixing at all,” Zambaldo said. “There’s absolutely no difference if those people are sitting at home or in a café, they’re still going to spread the virus,” she added.

But Zambaldo and her partner, Aleksandar Josifov, who celebrated the opening of their café, Pole Pole, in October, a week before the government restricted the sale of alcohol to restaurants, can’t help feeling frustrated by what they say was mismanagement of the situation.

From the get-go, the measures didn’t make sense, Josifov said, as they didn’t stop people getting together but effectively gave an unfair advantage to some establishments over others.

“What the restrictions did was transfer social gatherings from bars and cafes to restaurants and private homes, with parties happening all the time and gatherings taking place with no limits,” Josifov said.

“Nothing changed and it was very obvious to everyone. You would take a walk down The Strand and you could see for yourself what was going on.”

Zambaldo said there was also confusion in the way restrictive measures were communicated. The changes announced overnight brought new expenses at a time when coffers were running dry.

“From the beginning, for us it has been about survival. We were never given the chance to work properly,” Josifov said.