Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1281593
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 AUGUST 2020 OPINION THE Medical Association of Malta (MAM) ordered all doc- tors working in public health to strike for an hour last Thurs- day in protest against the 'po- litical and unscientific' inter- ference by other ministries in their work. Doctors working at swabbing centres were ex- empted from this directive. MAM said that this was a symbolic protest in order to show that public health doc- tors cannot take responsibili- ty for decisions that are taken without their knowledge or against their advice, and which may result in serious harm to their health or their colleagues. This followed the decision taken by the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) to interpret the regulations issued by the health authorities after a le- gal notice issued on Tuesday evening had already diluted the restrictions announced that same day to close bars follow- ing a fierce resurgence of COV- ID-19 cases. The MAM said the legal no- tice was 'completely differ- ent' to what was announced on Monday by the Minister of Health and the Superintendent of Public Health in a bid to control the COVID-19 spike. Health Minister Chris Fearne had implied that only restau- rants would be allowed to re- main open. However, the legal notice allows all bars to stay open as long as their patrons are seated at a table and served food and drinks. MAM said the decision un- dermined public health meas- ures aimed at controlling the epidemic: "The Malta Tourism Authority is in self-destruct mode and fomenting epidem- ics again, putting profit before health," adding that "Whoever drafted the legal notice is in- sulting the intelligence of all the Maltese people." According to MTA, the main focus of the new regulations is that customers should be sit- ting at a table and not stand- ing, so that social distance can be maintained. It then decided that it had the right to interpret the definition of food in the al- ready diluted published regu- lations. It declared that 'food' should be interpreted as snacks and platters and could even be a simple serving of crisps at a table of seated patrons. The further dilution of the steps to fight the pandemic was again evident. The Malta Union of Mid- wives and Nurses (MUMN) then stepped in to say that platters or snacks that are to be served in bars and kazini (clubs) should be served indi- vidually and not shared. MUMN said Malta is paying a high price on this second wave both from a health and from an economy perspective and com- plained that enforcement is on- ly being carried out on public transport and in supermarkets, while bars and kazini are left unchecked. Public perception of so many mixed messages does not in- stil confidence in the way that Malta is fighting the 'second wave' of the pandemic. People with financial interests at stake should not be allowed to 'inter- pret' directives issued by the health authorities. That the MTA is beholden by the Malta Hotels and Res- taurants Association (MHRA) is not great news. It is also be- coming more apparent that the Minister of Tourism, Julia Far- rugia, has evolved into a puppet in the hands of MHRA whose policies do not necessarily co- incide with what should be the right tourism policies from a national interest standpoint. The tourism sector being al- lowed to undermine directives issued by the health authori- ties and endorsed by the health minister – who happens to be also the Deputy Prime Minister – reflects the lack of control that should be exercised by the Prime Minister and his office. The unexpected intensity of the second wave of the pan- demic has diminished Robert Abela's reputation in the eyes of many citizens. His lack of control, evident by his allowing this open tug-of-war between the health authorities and the tourism sector, is continuing to shrink his stature as Malta's Prime Minister. Abusing tracers Last Tuesday, The Times car- ried a story on the abuse that voluntary COVID-19 tracers are facing when carrying out their very important job. They are facing abuse and threats, swearing and shouting when they phone contacts of posi- tive cases and instruct then to quarantine. Some just hung up and re- fused to give the requested in- formation, others threatened these volunteers with taking le- gal steps through their lawyers or with complaining to minis- ters. I understand that in normal circumstances, no one should have the power – and the gumption – to phone people and ask them about their re- cent whereabouts. But current circumstances are not normal and contact tracing must be done at all costs so that the heath authorities are able to control the pandemic. This means contacting people indicated as having met others who had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Dr Tanya Melillo, head of the Infectious Disease Preven- tion and Control Unit told The Times that "no one wants to go into quarantine in summer.'" Still the story reveals a shock- ingly selfish attitude by people who should know better. No surprise there. Irresponsibility is becoming a hallmark of the Maltese character. Europe's last dictator Belarusian President Alexan- der Lukashenko has stepped up efforts to reassert his control after some two weeks of street protests and strikes triggered by a disputed election result. Lukashenko, a former collec- tive farm boss, is facing the big- gest crisis of his 26-year rule. The official result gave him 80% of the vote but the oppo- sition has denounced the poll as fraudulent. Opposition lead- er Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya urged the EU to reject official results giving Lukashenko 80% of the vote. She stood as his main challenger in the elec- tion after her husband, a bet- ter-known opposition figure, was jailed. The President of the Euro- pean Council, Charles Michel, made it clear that the EU did not recognise the result of the election and rejected Lukashenko's re-election. He announced financial sanctions against officials responsible for election fraud and the abuse of protesters. EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, ex- plained: "This is about the Be- larusian people and their legit- imate right to determine the future path of their country." The EU wants to avoid a re- peat of violence in neighbour- ing Ukraine, where a pro-Mos- cow leader was ousted in a popular uprising six years ago, triggering a Russian military intervention. But EU officials say the situ- ation differs from Ukraine in 2014, because the Belarus op- position does not seek to loos- en ties with Russia, but only to get rid of Lukashenko. Michael Falzon Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps micfal45@gmail.com