The Chamber of Pharmacists has directed community pharmacists to affix a black cloth at the entrance of their pharmacies in symbolic protest against the lack of measures being taken by the government to protect people’s health.

It has also directed pharmacists to wear a black ribbon on their lab coat lapel as a sign of mourning at the demise of a yet another COVID-19 victim.

By this gesture, the chamber said it was calling for common sense, prudence and respect for front liners and the most vulnerable.

COVID-19 figures in Malta have been in double digits for nearly a month and Malta remains the second-highest country in the EU in terms of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the last two weeks. Spain is at the top of the European Centre for Disease Control table.

A week ago, the coronavirus also claimed its 10th victim in Malta: a 72-year-old man who died at Mater Dei Hospital.

“Whilst aware of the economic needs of the country, health is wealth and therefore the Kamra does not accept that the health of the nation plays second fiddle to the economy,” the chamber said in a statement on Thursday.

The directive will remain in force until it is satisfied that the measures taken to safeguard public health and the safety of pharmacists, other front liners, and the nation, not least the vulnerable, are based on the science practised by Malta’s public health experts.

It warned that this was just a first step in a structured protest campaign that will be sustained and escalated as needed, depending on the evolving situation.