The following are the top stories in Malta's newspapers on Thursday.
Times of Malta reports that the prime minister on Wednesday ruled out a lockdown, despite a big surge in COVID-19 cases. It also reports that former prime minister Joseph Muscat breached the ministers’ code of ethics when he defended members of his staff accused of detaining journalists after a late-night cabinet meeting in 2019, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has ruled.
The Malta Independent reports how the prime minister, on Wednesday, said new COVID-19 measures will be introduced 'in the coming hours' but ruled out a lockdown. It also reports how a cystic-fibrosis patient has pleaded for life-saving medication.
In-Nazzjon says the prime minister is continuing to show how he has lost control over COVID-19. It also says the rate of infection in Malta is alarming when compared to the rest of Europe.
L-orizzont says the authorities fined 2,300 people in the first two months of this year for breaching COVID-19 rules. It also reports that the GWU has welcomed the proposed reform of old rents, announced by the government on Saturday.