Malta is on track to be on the EU’s ‘orange’ travel list if a European Commission proposal to harmonise restrictions goes through, according to calculations by Times of Malta based on official data.

This could see travellers to and from the island needing to provide paperwork to show how authorities can locate them – but, crucially, there would be no need to quarantine.

The list, suggested by Brussels on Friday, would label countries as either ‘green’, ‘orange’, ‘red’, or ‘grey’, depending on their rate of infection and level of testing.

It is suggesting a colour coded EU travel map be updated weekly.

Those travelling from an area classified as ‘red’ or ‘grey’ would either have to undergo quarantine or, ideally, a COVID-19 test upon arrival.

Where justified, member states could also consider recommending that people travelling from an area classified as ‘orange’ undergo at least a COVID-19 test prior to departure or upon arrival.

Those arriving from an area classified as ‘red’, ‘orange’ or ‘grey’ could be asked to submit “passenger locator forms”.

Travellers with an essential function or need – such as critical professions, frontier and posted workers, students or journalists performing their duties – should not be required to undergo quarantine, the Commission believes. 

This set of common rules will be put to member states for consideration later this month.

Malta on restricted travel list of over dozen countries

Malta has found itself on the restricted travel list of over a dozen countries in the EU, based on its high number of active COVID-19 cases. But the EU’s proposal also takes testing rates into account.

According to the Commission proposal, for an area to be labelled ‘green’, the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases would have to be less than 25 per 100,000 during a 14-day period and the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests would need to be less than three per cent

To be labelled ‘orange’, a member state or region would need a number of newly notified COVID-19 cases of less than 50 during a two-week period but the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests would also need to be three per cent or more.

A country can fit into this category if the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is between 25 and 150 per 100,000 but the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is less than three per cent.

It is this latter criterion that puts Malta on the orange list.

92.4 cases per 100,000 population

As of Friday, the total number of cases per 100,000 population is 92.4 – among the highest in the EU, according to the European Centre of Disease Control’s daily list.

But Malta has carried out 198,883 tests since the start of the pandemic and has registered 1,984 positive cases, meaning less than 1% of all tests are positive. In the last 14 days, that figure rises to around 1.5%.

Meanwhile, ‘red’ would be assigned to an area where the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is more than 50 during a 14-day period and the percentage of positive tests from all COVID-19 tests is 3% or more.

If the total number of newly notified COVID-19 cases is more than 150 per 100,000 people during a 14-day period, then a country can also be considered ‘red’.

‘Grey’ would be used if there is insufficient information available or if the number of COVID-19 tests carried out per 100,000 people is less than 250.

Malta has already introduced its own colour code system, regularly updating which countries are considered safe and restriction-free for travel.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.