Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1221489
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MARCH 2020 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA MALTA'S doctors union yes- terday called once again for a mandatory quarantine for all Malta residents. Although satisfied with new travel restrictions, the Medi- cal Association of Malta said the Italian and Chinese expe- rience of COVID-19 showed that "half-measures, although well-intentioned, do not work." In a meeting with all other trade unions with the Principal Permanent Secretary on Satur- day morning, MAM called for a pre-emptive lockdown for a minimum of three weeks to be enforced with immediate effect. This would mean that all local residents will be in mandato- ry quarantine; only employees providing emergency services such as MDH and health cen- tres, power stations, water ser- vices and other essential infra- structures would be allowed. People should leave their homes only to buy essential items; all shops and places of entertain- ment except for pharmacies, supermarkets and groceries and food retail outlets (exclud- ing restaurants and pubs) are to be closed during this period; All schools and universities would remain closed during this period; the airport and ports would be closed to visitors and only allow repatriation of Malta residents stranded abroad. Any repatriations of local residents need to be followed by a strict, mandatory quarantine period of two weeks; Transport of goods and cargo would continue unaffected but no residents in Malta would be allowed to travel outside the country without permission of the health authority. "Other countries have only managed to control this dis- ease by implementing such strict measures early on. If we do not take these measures now, we are very likely to have to take them anyway soon, with the risk of overwhelming our health service and our ca- pacity to respond to the crisis. China managed to control the local epidemic within a period of three weeks and have now issued a travel ban to Europe to avoid import cases such has been the success of these meas- ures," MAM president Martin Balzan said. The Malta Union of Bank Employees president William Portelli shared MAM's senti- ment, demanding a lockdown across the nation with immedi- ate effect. "Stakeholders should be work- ing on reducing the risk and not waiting for it to happen. The Malta Employers' Association proposal of setting 19 March as the date of possible lockdown is too distant and risky business as the nation should not be tak- ing chances and cannot afford to gamble in such circumstanc- es," Portelli said. "To this effect, it is also ev- ident that in countries where lockdown was not immediate- ly implemented, the risks ran higher such as in Italy and now followed by Spain who declared a state of emergency. Whilst stakeholders should agree on how and what essential servic- es can still be managed which include banking and financial services, taking immediate ac- tion should help in particularly the health authorities and those involved to control better any potential risk of the epidemic in spreading." Portelli said the decision to go for lockdown will be much more effective as it will restrict both movement and contact between people. "MUBE is sure that the people will under- stand," Portelli said. The UHM Voice of the Work- ers has also asked for a preven- tive lockdown to stop the virus from being locally transmitted. "The country has two options: to order a lockdown when we get to a state of emergency when local transmissions start taking place or to order a pre- ventive lockdown so that this virus stops being spread," the union said. It added that if this virus starts being locally transmitted, there is a distinct possibility that the country would not have the physical capabilities and the human resources necessary to address the situation. "We are insisting that the lockdown counts as a kind of quarantine and that the wage of all employ- ees should be paid," Hermann Micallef said, adding that the government had a duty to meet with all social partners and come up with a holistic strate- gy. The union said that it told workplaces to be consultative and to communicate all chang- es to the employees. In the ab- sence of this, the union would be taking industrial action. "We hope that the message that the union is sending is not adhered to too late in the day. Had the government taken our advice earlier, to stop flights from high-risk zones and to order a mandatory quarantine, Malta does not have a case of corona- virus." The MUT also called on the government to proceed with a lockdown. "It is now evident that it is a question of when rather than the if. The MUT believes that an early decision needs to be taken by the gov- ernment to limit the spread of the virus." Unions join doctors in call for Malta lockdown National museums closed until further notice ALL national museums were closed with immediate effect and until further notice, Herit- age Malta said on Saturday, in a bid to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. All public events were called off as part of measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, with schools shut down, masses cancelled and people urged to stay indoors unless necessary. The measures have forced the cancellation or postpone- ment of several events, includ- ing village feasts, exhibitions and theatre programmes in- cluding at the Teatru Manoel. "Other countries have only managed to control this disease by implementing such strict measures early on" Environment Protection Act, 2016 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, 2017 (S.L. 549.46) NOTICE OF SUBMISSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT Construction of the Malta-Italy gas pipeline EU Project of Common Interest, including a terminal station at DPS, an onshore HDD route through De- limara Peninsula and the laying of an offshore 22" diameter pipeline extending up to Gela, Sicily. Delimara Power Station and offshore route within the Malta Territorial Waters, Delimara, Marsax- lokk, Malta PA/08757/17 Notice is hereby being given that an EIA Report has been submitted to the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) in connection with the above-men- tioned application. Digital copies of the EIA Report are available on the ERA website: https://era.org.mt/en/Pages/EA- 0004316-.aspx Hard copies of the same document are also available at the Marsaxlokk Local Council and the ERA offices for public inspection. Anyone who wishes to make any submissions on environmental matters should write to the Director of Environment and Resources, Environment and Resources Authority, Hexagon House, Spencer Hill, Marsa MRS 1441, or send an email to eia.malta@era. org.mt, by the 15th of April 2020. Date: [15th March 2020]. Disclaimer: The Authority is committed to protect the personal data and pri- vacy of the public in general. You are being informed that when making submissions, your personal data will not be disclosed or published unless within twelve (12) hours you give consent to the Authority to disclose your personal data. Provided that the Au- thority may disclose your personal data in those cases where it is required to do so, in order to comply with the applicable Laws.