Keeping schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic poses a huge risk to the education and social development of the upcoming generation and the government cannot permit this, the Prime Minister said on Sunday.

“It would pose a bigger risk than COVID-19 itself,” Robert Abela said.

The prime minister was being interviewed on the Labour Party's television station by Xarabank presenter Peppi Azzopardi.

Azzopardi pointed out that the decision to reopen schools at the end of this month when the current number of active cases is over 650 contrasted with the decision taken in March when schools had been closed at a time when the virus was much more contained with just 98 cases.

Abela insisted that, at this point in time, the government was more knowledgeable on the way to keep the virus under control as it had gained months of experience since the start of the outbreak.

“There is also the economic situation as every government needs to safeguard public health, lives as well as people’s livelihoods,” the prime minister said.

“We risk losing a generation but the government is constantly keeping track of the situation and the priority is educational development, be it online, in classrooms, or a mix of both. It is crucial schools reopen as long as health protocols are adhered to,” Abela added.

The prime minister said he would be leading by example as he had agreed with his wife to send their daughter to school when they reopen. However, he acknowledged that despite all the precautions there was no guarantee there would be no infections.

Asked for his reaction to a survey published in Times of Malta which showed that the majority were reluctant to send their children to school, Abela insisted that the findings of a survey commission by the government showed the contrary.

Parents should not be forced to send children to school

However, he said parents should not be forced to send their children to school in the current circumstances.

“We must give them a choice. We must have an online learning system but those wishing to send them physically to school must be given this opportunity as well,” he said.

The Prime Minister noted that until the arrival of the vaccine, the situation would continue to be very volatile with the number of active cases fluctuating.

Abela expressed himself against making vaccination for COVID-19 obligatory but said he would be taking it himself in line with the advice of the health authorities.

Migration

On migration, the prime minister said Malta was being successful in keeping arrivals from Libya relatively low, with August arrivals being two-thirds of the norm for previous years.

While insisting that Malta was adhering to its humanitarian obligations, Abela lashed out against PN leadership candidate Bernard Grech over his remark that “Malta was not full-up”.

Such a comment undermined Malta’s effort at European level in favour of burden-sharing, he said.

Abela insisted Malta and Lampedusa do not have the capacity to handle 800,000 migrants waiting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya. He also criticised EU member states for not showing solidarity with Malta.

“The same countries which some weeks ago made a huge fuss over Malta’s decision to keep migrants on offshore centres in Captain Morgan boats, have not even taken a single migrant from a ship which was left stranded for 38 days,” he said.

Abela also insisted that a significant number of migrants were crossing for economic reasons and not fleeing from war-torn countries or persecution.

Prison situation

Asked if he was concerned that in the last two years 10 inmates had been found dead, the prime minister insisted that the facility had made “giant strides forward in the last two years”.

While acknowledging that prisons had become too small, Abela said that from two recent visits he concluded that inmates were "serene". Drug abuse, as well as violent incidents between prisoners and with warders, had been curbed.

“Before the appointment of Alex Dalli as director, relatives used to be contacted by drug traffickers to cover expenses for the synthetic drugs being bought in prison by their relatives,” he said.

Abela said a “racket” at the forensic ward at Mount Carmel Hospital had been smashed. He said this section had morphed into a “privileged prison” for around 75 inmates. These have been reduced to around 20, he said.

Abela said he was in favour of discipline and rehabilitation. However, prison cannot revert to the “hotel” it had been until recently.

Caruana Galizia public inquiry

Abela defended his controversial decision not to issue any further extension beyond December to the three judges conducting the public inquiry into the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination.

“If need be, sittings can be held daily to wrap up the process by the end of the year,” the prime minister said.

He also took a dig at the presiding judges, saying holding two weekly sessions did not reflect the remuneration package they were receiving from the State.