Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci has responded to claims made by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) President Tony Zahra, who described the cautiousness surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic is tantamount to “Project Fear”.

Mr Zahra made the bold statements on Thursday night on TVM’s Xtra.

Asked by journalists for her response, Prof Gauci said “the situation has been very clear, where we have been giving information on the daily number of cases as well as the epidemiological progress of Malta with regard to COVID-19.

“We know that the virus is still in the community and that is why we cannot go back to the so-called normal. All measures introduced were done so after careful risk assessments while mitigating rules were also introduced,” she said.

On the Thursday night programme, Mr Zahra questioned why Malta could not follow Italy and Greece, who will be easing travel restrictions in June in an attempt to spur tourism and the economy.

Mr Zahra also questioned the wisdom of employing such caution when the number of empty hospital beds is relatively high and the number of COVID-19 related deaths remains low. So far, six people have lost their lives to the virus.

During today’s press briefing, Prof Gauci announced one new case of the virus detected over the past 24 hours. This ended a three-day run of double-digit increases, with 15 new cases being registered yesterday.

Currently, the total number of active cases stands at 125, while the total number of recoveries is 469.

Prof Gauci’s briefings have reduced in frequency, from daily to three times per week. Today, restaurants, outdoor establishments, hairdressers and beauty salons were allowed to open their doors to the public under new rules.