Malta's entertainment lobby is pushing for health authorities to publish COVID-19 guidelines for standing events, with just six days to go before they are allowed to resume next Monday. 

The Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) said that while standing events resume in six days' time, "the guidelines have not yet been published".

"We keep on repeating the same message that our industry needs sufficient planning time. We call on Saħħa [the Health Ministry] to publish them immediately," MEIA said in a post on Facebook.

Standing events will be allowed for the first time since March 2020 from Monday. Events will be capped to a maximum of 100 people and all those attending must be fully vaccinated to be allowed in. 

When announcing the decision to allow standing events on August 24, Health Minister Chris Fearne had said the guidelines would be issued within days. 

It remains unclear why the guidelines have not been issued yet.

The MEIA has spent months campaigning for standing events to be allowed, saying that many were struggling to make ends meet as the industry was the only one yet to reopen despite the island's strong vaccine drive. 

Earlier in summer, artists, entertainers and event organisers took to the streets in Valletta to protest, saying they were not being included in the government's recovery plan.