People should encourage others to wear face masks while in crowded places as part of efforts to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has suggested. 
 
Speaking during Times of Malta’s Ask Charmaine Facebook Q&A show, launched on Wednesday, Gauci said that the wearing of masks protects others and so people should don them while in crowded places. 

“A lot of people are speaking to others on public transport, for instance, and there it is very important to wear masks. There you meet a lot of different people,” Gauci stressed. 

Here are a selection of questions put to Gauci by Times of Malta readers.

Why are authorities not testing people flying to and from Malta?

Asked about the issues surrounding the lifting of the flight ban next Wednesday and measures in place to control the spread as more people start travelling, Gauci acknowledged some people are still concerned about the reopening of the airport. 

However she insisted there were scientific reasons against blanket testing for all travellers.

“When you are taking a test, you need a number of the pathogens to be able to detect the virus. So if you don’t have enough, it will not be detected. So, when taking a sample, this is not a clear certificate that you don’t have COVID-19,” Gauci said.

Why did the daily briefings stop? 

Gauci explained that when the outbreak had reached its peak, it was crucial to give the public daily updates because this not only kept them informed but also ensured they were given the latest guidelines that needed to be followed in order to stop the virus from spreading. 

“Now that we are in the transition phase and now that the number of cases are low – we have had no new cases for three days – we felt that the daily briefings are no longer needed at this stage.
 
“But journalists and media houses are in contact with us almost every day and whatever is new is still being brought to the public,” Gauci assured. 

What will happen if the numbers spike once the airport reopens? 

“We need to assess the situation and look at the individual cases. It is very important as well to not only look at the number of cases but also the type of cases," Gauci said.

 
“About two weeks ago we had a spike in the number of cases. We had a construction site where several people who had worked within that construction site and their close contacts were infected. What was good about that was that we picked it up very early and had over 120 people under quarantine,” she said.

I am a ‘vulnerable person’, can I go out? 

Gauci said the authorities have dealt with many people considered vulnerable – either because they are elderly, or they have chronic illnesses – fearing going out since the measures started being lifted in May. 
 
“We were very careful with our strategy. In the beginning we even cocooned our vulnerable people and told them to stay inside. And that actually worked. But we have come to a stage now where the transmission rate in the community is low. So, we cannot keep our vulnerable at home because we will end up with other problems, as we already have,” Gauci said. 
 
She urged these people to practice social distancing and avoid places that were too crowded while also trying to lead a normal life. 

The Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, has replied to questions sent by readers of Times of Malta about COVID-19.

Have any questions to ask our health columnist Charmaine Gauci? Her fortnightly Ask Charmaine column appears in Times of Malta on a Wednesday in print and online.  She will provide advice and answer readers’ questions on a range of health topics from coronavirus and beyond. Send an e-mail to askcharmaine@timesofmalta.com