Updated 3.45pm with PN statement

A woman hurled abuse at the Superintendent of Public Health and tried to stop her getting into her car after she was interviewed on the TVM programme Dissett late on Wednesday.

The woman, apparently involved in the driving instruction sector, waited for Charmaine Gauci outside the broadcaster's door and started insulting her when she got out.

Charmaine Gauci.

The issue appeared to be the decision by the authorities to first stop driving instruction, and then to rescind the decision.

The police were called, but Gauci was meanwhile escorted into her car by TVM journalists. 

A Times of Malta reader who sent the above picture said eight police squad cars were at the scene.

The police said no one was injured. The woman was taken to Ħamrun police station for questioning.

The Malta Driving Instructors Association (MDIA) condemned the incident and dissociated itself from it. 

The incident was also condemned by the Nationalist Party, which said in a statement Gauci was a person who, with utmost dedication and commitment, was being of support to the people in the current difficult phase.

Gauci is responsible for decisions related to measures to stop the spread of coronavirus. She has become a household name because of her daily press briefing about latest coronavirus developments in Malta.