Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1232859
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 APRIL 2020 NEWS CORONAVIRUS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 No further details on this par- ticular case were released by Fearne and Public Health Su- perintendent Charmaine Gauci. Overnight, 825 tests were car- ried out, bringing the total to more than 11,000 since the start of the pandemic in March. The daily bulletin was brought forward by 90 minutes as spec- ulation grew on a sudden surge in cases. No new restrictive measures required However, Fearne insisted the spike was within expectations and no new restrictive meas- ures were needed at this stage if people continued to obey social distancing rules. Fearne said that none of the 52 cases so far have been traced back to the Hal Far open centre, which was placed on lockdown last Sunday after eight residents registered positive. "We are not surprised by the increase because it is according to our predictions. If anything, we were expecting this rise to have happened last week," Fearne said. Fearne urges discipline However, he reiterated his ap- peal for people to exercise disci- pline, responsibility and remain focussed. "The numbers are still with- in the curve that we were pre- dicting and if it remains so we will be able to cope. But this does not mean we should relax. It is our responsibility to stay healthy and safe and to keep others safe," Fearne cautioned. He urged employers to adopt telework as much as possible and asked people to remain at home unless it was necessary for them to go out. Asked whether the new cas- es were linked to possible out- breaks in particular factories and workplaces, Gauci said there were no major work-re- lated outbreaks so far. "We are carrying out contact tracing but it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact source of contagion unless the circum- stances are clear enough," Gau- ci said. Hal Far open centre The health authorities are ex- pecting the number of Covid-19 cases to continue increasing, including those at the Hal Far open centre. Fearne said that vulnerable migrants have been shifted out of the open centre and people there will be afforded medical treatment like anybody else. "We have engaged people to translate recommendations be- ing made by the health author- ities because the majority of residents know neither Maltese nor English," he said. ITU beds Fearne said the capacity of in- tensive therapy beds at Mater Dei Hospital stood at 125, in- cluding ventilators and medical staff to go with them. The num- ber will increase to 200, short- ly. The ITU beds in Gozo have increased to 20. Fearne said these beds should be sufficient if Malta sticks to the predicted curve. Local coronavirus case count up to 293 PAUL COCKS A fund management company based in Malta - Praude Asset Management Lim- ited - has donated 500,000 protective masks to Malta's health authorities for use during the Covid-19 pandemic. The donation came on the behest of the asset management company's founder and owner, Massimo Malvestio, wo has resided in Malta for the past six years, having moved here from Treviso in the Italian region of Veneto. When Covid-19 broke out in Veneto, it spread rapidly throughout the region. Realising that there was a shortage of surgical masks, the Governor of the re- gion contracted a a world-renowned printer based in the region - Grafica Veneta - to print a number of protective screens/masks, to control the spread of coronavirus. The Veneto region bought and distrib- uted millions of masks to all their mu- nicipalities for the general public to use. Having witnessed the success rate of these masks in Veneto, Malvestio decid- ed to donate a number of masks to Mal- ta. He contacted Malta's ambassador to Italy, Joseph Cuschieri, who confirmed that Malta's health authorities would indeed welcome the much-needed face screens. Malvestio contracted the same printer in Veneto and paid for 500,000 masks for Malta. Last Friday the masks arrived in Malta and Malvestio officially presented them to the Government. He thanked the Government of Malta for the efficient and effective manage- ment of the deal and Ambassador Cus- chieri for facilitating the donation of the masks. Although not a surgical tool, the face masks produced by Grafica Veneta have proven to be a valuable safeguard designed for citizens. With proper use, this mask provided a resourceful solution combining fast availability and effectiveness. In Veneto, the distribution of this protective gear to citizens provided a much-desired relief on the supply for hospitals, where proper surgical masks must remain available to healthcare pro- fessionals in their fight against corona- virus. Veneto has managed to obtain remark- able results in managing the health cri- sis, which have been praised all over the world and most recently by the Univer- sity of Harvard. Fund management company based in Malta donates 500,000 masks to health authorities Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci