Three government MPs including housing minister Roderick Galdes are currently in quarantine, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo told parliament on Wednesday.

He was reacting to opposition criticism of Galdes's absence during question time, saying the Opposition should have known about Mr Galdes through the minutes of the House. 

During the same exchange, Opposition leader Bernard Grech angrily denied that he ever broke quarantine.

He was replying to a claim made by Labour MP Glen Bedingfield.

Grech demanded that Bedingfield immediately withdraw the claim, indicating that he would otherwise raise a breach of privilege complaint. Grech said that he was never asked to quarantine during the summer, and in December, he had followed quarantine regulations.

Speaker Anġlu Farrugia said the Chair accepted Grech's explanation and asked Bedingfield to withdraw the claim.    

The Labour Whip accepted the explanation and said he had based himself on media reports.