The local events industry has taken a battering after a string of major local parties have been cancelled by their organisers as a precaution against rising COVID-19 cases.
G7, Sound Salon, Glitch Club Series and District have cancelled their upcoming parties, major events in the local calendar.
G7, Sound Salon and Glitch Club Series, events held at the Gianpula clubbing village, have cancelled upcoming gigs for the foreseeable future, while District, which takes place at Numero Uno, has cancelled this Friday’s event.
A total of 22 cases has been registered so far in connection with a ‘Hotel Take Over’ Party organised by G7 and Sound Salon at the Raddisson Blu Resort & Spa on 18th/19th July, which caused public outrage as to why such mass events are allowed to take place while restaurants, bars, hotels, hair salons and beauty salons must continue to adhere to COVID guidelines, such as limiting the number of customers in their establishments.
A second cluster of cases at a Santa Venera feast ramped up public pressure for mass gatherings to be cancelled entirely, with various medical organisations pointing out the danger of having Malta’s ports open to high-risk countries while allowing such events to take place.
On 23rd July, less than a week ago, Malta registered 6 active cases of the virus. Today, the number stands at 46 active cases. Over the past 24 hours, authorities registered two cases which form part of the 22 related to the Hotel Take Over Party, five related to the Santa Venera cluster and five sporadic cases
Further to this, a BBC article published on Wednesday morning further caused public concern as it highlighted how Malta is positioning itself to be the festival hot spot of the summer, with no less than four international festivals organised this coming September.
The article features 365 Entertainment owner, Nicky Spiteri, who’s company has been organising festivals on the island for 20 years (Creamfields, Annie Mac’s Lost and Found) highlighted Malta’s dependency on tourism and how Maltese residents welcomed the festivals.
The Hotel Take Over Party which sparked a cluster of 18 cases almost two weeks ago
Competing interests continue to emerge, however. While The Malta Chamber and the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association have called for mass events to continue in a responsible fashion, with stricter caps on crowd size and social distancing measures in place, the Malta Employers Association has called for a stop to “this nonsense” and prevent all mass events from taking place.
It highlighted the plight of companies and organisations which have had to make sacrifices to keep individuals on their pay-roll, and keep their businesses going despite disruptions in their workforce such as employees living with vulnerable people, quarantine and other restrictions.
“There can be no winners if there is a surge in cases brought about by mass events. Besides the obvious impact and dangers posed to public health, many employers and employees have made tremendous sacrifices in the battle against COVID – lost productivity, reduced pay packet, working flexibly, mandatory quarantine for vulnerable groups among others.”
“Most companies have coped by digging into internal reserves to avoid declaring redundancies, but they will not hold out if there is a second wave, especially if it is of our own making by surrendering in to pressures by some lobbies for their short term interests. Hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money which have been used to keep the economy afloat and reduce the number of affected persons will have been spent in vain.”
“If schools remain closed in September due to the virus, there will be chaos in the labour market.”
Just yesterday, Vodafone Malta asked employees who attended the fateful Hotel Take Over party to work from home, causing the company to close a number of stores due to staff shortages.
The Central Bank of Malta has also reportedly had an employee test positive for the virus, with those who came in contact with the worker asked to continue working from home.
Medical Association of Malta threatens industrial action if permits for mass events not cancelled by Monday
Doctors have threatened industrial action if permits for mass events and parties are not cancelled by this Monday.
The Medical Association of Malta made the declaration on Wednesday and filed a dispute with the Health Ministry, threatening industrial action if its demands are not met.
It said that should the demands not be met, it will direct members to perform only emergency duties.
The union is demanding that all permits for gatherings, parties and mass events of over 10 people should be cancelled by Monday.
The union also announced that, with immediate effect, all doctors vulnerable to COVID-19, such as those who work with medical conditions, are to only work on administrative or tele-work duties, and to avoid contact with patients.
While Malta’s club and venue owners have enjoyed five weeks of regular events, more than their European counterparts can say, the remainder of summer looks far less certain.
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