Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1273901
30.07.2020 7 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS CONTRIBUTING JOURNALIST: MASSIMO COSTA BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 T he recent spike in COVID-19 cases is wor- rying but not entirely surprising. e virus has not gone away and this was bound to happen as the country re-opened for business. Shutting down the economy was never going to be a long-term option because businesses need to survive, people have to live and the country has to continue functioning. But in re-opening commercial activities, wis- dom dictated that clear, enforceable protocols of health and safety should have remained in place. e government should have retained the moral authority of relaxing and introducing such meas- ures in response to epidemiological data. Unfortunately, the message from government has not been a consistent one, despite claims to the contrary. e cautiousness of Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne contrasts with the cavalier attitude of Prime Minister Robert Abela. e former advocates caution and warns of con- sequences if people fail to respect public health guidelines, the latter talks as if the virus has van- ished and people should disregard precautions. is Jackal and Hyde approach has only helped to confuse people, more so when it remains un- clear for ordinary citizens and industry operators whether public health guidelines on social dis- tancing and masks are at all enforceable. It is within this context that the recent rise in COVID-19 cases become a worrying factor. e root of the surge can be traced to a hotel party and a village feast. is has raised justified concerns on the organisation of mass events and the higher risk of contagion. At a time when the country is trying to restart its tourism industry, a cavalier attitude is a hin- drance and risks derailing the positive health image Malta managed to build throughout the pandemic. Having a good health system and low infection rates was always going to be a selling point to attract wary tourists. However, uncontrolled mass events risk placing a sudden strain on the country's health resources and threaten the economic survival of other sec- tors. Short of an outright ban on mass events, the government must introduce clear protocols out- lining safety measures that must be adopted by organisers and these should be enforceable at law. Caps on the number of people who can attend an event, the logging of attendee details to facil- itate contact tracing, and strict cleanliness pro- tocols should be introduced. Anybody caught flouting these rules should pay the consequences. Public mass events where such protocols can- not be implemented or adequately supervised should be banned outright. But government must also retain the flexibility of taking all the decisions public healthcare pro- fessionals deem necessary if the COVID-19 situ- ation in the country deteriorates. Mass events must not be allowed to undermine the long-term survival of the economy. It will be useless opening up for business when an increase in coronavirus cases will lead to peo- ple being scared of going out. People need reassurance that establishments and event organisers are taking all the necessary measures to ensure safety. What people don't need is someone trying to play down their concerns, or worse, someone telling them there is nothing to worry about be- cause the battle is over. A positive attitude is important to keep things in perspective but over-enthusiasm is counter- productive. e economy has to remain open for business but to do so all precautions must be taken to en- sure long-term sustainability. Clear, enforceable protocols and no cavalier attitude The Hotel Takeover party was held over the weekend at the Radisson Blu Hotel in St Julian's (Photo: Facebook/G7 events)