Malta’s public health authorities have displayed a sure-footed approach in their management and handling of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The number of patients infected have been held down to reasonable levels, deaths have thankfully been relatively low, testing has been efficient and effective and the country’s health infrastructure has not been overwhelmed. Maltese confidence in the government’s performance has been high.

The self-discipline of the Maltese in complying with the social distancing and other lockdown rules has been remarkable given that this is a nation notoriously known for its readiness to ignore to the letter or the spirit of the law.

But as the government eases the measures in a bid to kick-start the economy, the fight against COVID-19 enters its most perilous stage. It is essential at this critical turning point in the emergency for the revised rules to be clear and to ensure their enforcement is firmly handled by the authorities.

There have been mixed messages from the government, not helped by the prime minister’s less-than-subliminal references in speeches over last weekend on the Labour Party’s media, that it may be acceptable to breach the rules, that people will be forgiven for doing so and leniency will be applied to those who transgressed (the “emphasis would be on education rather than fining people who broke the rules”).

While it is clear that Abela wished to convey an upbeat message, his comments were a harbinger of the lack of clarity, which has arisen since the announcements on Monday about the opening of restaurants, hairdressers, beauticians and nail technicians from Friday.

In a news conference, Robert Abela went on to almost chastise the media for asking pressing and pertinent questions about the easing of the partial-lockdown, seemingly ignoring the fact that COVID-19 has not yet been defeated.

The government’s approach is understandable in light of the dire effects on an already stagnating economy.

The business community has been at the forefront of emphasising the disastrous impact on the economy and on jobs if the lockdown had to persist for much longer. It is important for the government to keep reopening sectors it deems safe, based on health experts’ advice. But reopening sectors in an undisciplined fashion could lead to a spike in new COVID-19 cases and undermine the economy in the process.

As the Medical Association of Malta has highlighted, the serious medical implications of an uncontrolled reopening of the economy could only be avoided if strict discipline on social distancing and hygiene, which is regulated and vigorously enforced, continued to be rigidly maintained.      

While, therefore, the prime minister’s message at the weekend about trusting the population to act “like adults” was right – Sweden has been partially successful in this approach – he must also recognise that there are behavioural traits in the Maltese that require a different approach at this critical juncture.

First, the government’s statements about the new compliance rules must be succinct and clear beyond peradventure. Those to whom they are addressed must be in no doubt as to what is expected of them.

Secondly, the new rules and accompanying penalties must be enforced without fear or favour. Failing to do so will undo all the sacrifices the nation has made in the last few months.