The Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) and the Malta Union of Midives and Nurses (MUMN) have welcomed new measures restricting arrivals in Malta to people who have been fully vaccinated.

ACE said it was important that all those who are reluctant to get jabbed assume their responsibilities. Refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine was detrimental to the people concerned and the business community in general. 

It urged all to respect the health ministry’s guidelines, saying that while the recent second restaurant shutdown was a catastrophic blow, a third closure should not ever be considered.

The MUMN said the COVID-19 vaccine is the most important tool to stop the spread of the virus and vaccine certificates are more reliable than any PCR test.

The union welcomed the fact that unvaccinated people cannot travel outside the country unless special permission is granted by the Superintendent of Public Health and would need to quarantine on return.

This was important for medical frontliners, hospital patients and the vulnerable as it removed the risk of unvaccinated people returning from abroad and infecting work colleagues or other people. It would also prevent the importation of new strains of the virus. 

The General Workers' Union welcomed the measures, saying they were needed to ensure a continued, gradual return to normality after so many people had made so many sacrifices.