Exposed to the possibility of encountering infected people on a daily basis, Malta’s environmental health officers have had to undergo some radical changes in their personal lives.
Like medical personnel, some have had to leave their homes and go into self-quarantine to protect their loved ones.
“I have not seen my baby for 15 days as I have been advised to move out of the house,” a member of the Malta Environmental Health Officers Association told Times of Malta.
Others have had to seek alternative accommodation in line with the advice of the Superintendence for Public Health that household members who are considered vulnerable – the elderly and those suffering from certain conditions – should not be exposed to people who are in contact with the outside world.
Falling under the responsibility of the superintendence, the officers’ duty is to ensure that mandatory COVID-19 measures are being respected.
They enforce quarantine regulations and ensure businesses ordered to close, like bars, restaurants and non-essential retail outlets, are abiding by the rules.
The inspectorate, which has a staff of around 100, has carried out over 13,000 inspections so far, dishing out 70 fines to the tune of €3,000 each for breaching quarantine. They have also fined two infected people €10,000 each for not being found at home.
While adapting to the new reality of the pandemic, the inspectorate still needs to keep up with other crucial functions, such as public recalls of food items, import controls and handling of non-COVID-19 complaints.
Some people in quarantine think it’s no problem to go for a walk with the dog at night
This means some officers who normally operate behind the scenes have had to go the extra mile and step in for those “on the front” by taking over part of their workload.
“This is putting these officers under strain but they are rising to the challenge,”association president Tony Sammut said.
The inspectors, who number about 36 in Malta and Gozo, have been divided into teams to avoid transmission to the rest of the section in case one of them contracts the virus. A stand-by team has been formed from other officers should members of a frontline team have to be quarantined.
A certain routine has set in. The day starts with an early morning briefing in one of the six offices around the islands.
The officers are given a list of complaints about possible breaches of the regulations, contacts to trace and details of persons who are under strict orders not to leave home.
At this stage they are ready to don their personal protective equipment and start daily inspections in coordination with other enforcement agencies like the police.
“Most of the people are cooperative, some others unfortunately a bit less,” Sammut said.
“We have had instances of shops opening as if it is ‘business as usual’ and people who should have been in quarantine but were not found during checks.”
These inspections also reveal individual approaches to quarantine. “Some people in quarantine think it’s no problem to go for a walk with the dog at night, others think they can move from one house to another or that they can invite friends over.”
Those in quarantine cannot change address and all the people in the same residence have to obey the same quarantine rules, he specified.
Spot checks on businesses are sometimes carried out more than once a day to ensure full compliance. Gymnasiums, massage and beauty parlours and a hairdresser were among those found to be flouting the restrictions.
Inspections on recent travellers doing their 14-day mandatory quarantine are nearly over. However, there are still a few returning on repatriation flights.
Fittingly, the association has launched a dedicated Facebook page promoting the ‘silent heroes’ fighting the outbreak.
The inspectorate receives complaints from the public and police on suspected breaches related to quarantine so that officers on the ground can take prompt action. Send an e-mail to quarantine.covid19@gov.mt.