The government must act to address the latest record-breaking spike in new COVID-19 cases, the nurses union said on Tuesday, warning a lockdown could soon be the only solution. 

"The government is taking things too lightly. Yes, a lockdown should be used as a last resort but the way things are heading, we're soon reaching that point," Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses (MUMN) head Paul Pace said.

The government has resisted calls for a lockdown, insisting this would be futile and that measures in place are enough to keep the situation under control.

Health Minister Chris Fearne also previously dismissed introducing a so-called circuit breaker - a short lockdown to help bring down numbers and stop the situation from spiraling out of control. Instead, he pointed to the vaccine roll out as the solution. 

The MUMN chief was commenting moments after health authorities confirmed 336 new cases were found overnight. The number is the highest-ever since the pandemic hit the island a year ago this week.

Pace said that while measures were being adhered to at people's places of work, with teleworking encouraged where possible, many were "doing whatever they want" in their free time. He urged the authorities to step up enforcement and take things "more seriously". 

"On the weekend, everywhere is packed with people out and about having coffee and with more good weather, even the beaches are full of people with no social distancing," he said. 

Despite being on the frontlines, the MUMN head said the authorities have not held any meetings to discuss the way forward in light of the spike.

Pace said the union would be requesting a meeting if this is not called by the government, especially as the number of patients in intensive care continues to increase. 

The nurses' union chief echoed concerns by ITU specialists who said the patients in intensive care are younger than before. 

"There are now people in their 40s, 50s and 60s. And saying the patients who died of underlying conditions is wrong. A good portion of the population has diabetes but that doesn't mean it's OK to die at 40," Pace said. 

On Wednesday, the authorities said that one of the three patients who died of COVID-19 was 41. They did not provide any additional information about this case. Times of Malta is informed the patient was healthy before he contracted the virus. 

Times of Malta has reached out to Prime Minister Robert Abela, Health Minister Chris Fearne and Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci for comments on the situation. But no reply has been received so far.  

Doctors' association echoes concerns

Later, Medical Association of Malta head Martin Balzan echoed the nurses' concerns, saying there was "too much wishful thinking and mixed messages" from the government. 

"In other countries, when the UK variant hit, a full lockdown was imposed. Here, there are still way too many social activities going on," Balzan said. 

Like Pace, the doctors' association head said people were not following the measures when out and about on the weekend. He urged the authorities to step up enforcement, saying this had become too lax.  

On the variant, Balzan said the authorities need to also step up testing at the ports otherwise Malta could soon have "every single variant" spreading in the community. 

As a result of the high numbers, he went on, Malta could soon be put on other countries' red lists, meaning travel to the island would again be restricted. 

"We're not just talking about a very serious health situation but even looking at this from the economic point of view, people will not want to come here and that will continue harming the tourism sector," Balzan said. 

Teachers monitoring the situation

Meanwhile, the teachers' union has demanded more information from the authorities on the variant. In comments to Times of Malta, Malta Union of Teachers head Marco Bonnici said the government can no longer blame the spike on Christmas. 

"If it's people not following the rules then the authorities need to step up enforcement. But if it is the variant, the health authorities need to give more information on this.

"What is the situation with the variant really like?" Bonnici asked. 

On lessons shifting online, the MUT head said the government had dismissed the move in January and the union had not had any talks on the matter since then. 

Although meetings with the health and education authorities are held every Friday, Bonnici said the union was following the developments closely and would ask for a meeting earlier if the situation deteriorates.