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2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 DECEMBER 2020 Christmas should not be an excuse to lower our guard Editorial EARLIER this week, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci delivered a stark warning to fami- lies preparing to celebrate Christmas this year. "I appeal to those who are planning a family lunch, please remain with your own household," she said during her weekly briefing. "If you invite people outside of your household, there is a risk of transmission. At a table it is difficult to maintain social distance, and at a meal you will remove your mask, and if there is alcohol it might be harder to continue following the measures." Given that the rate of new infections is currently averaging out at around 120 cases a day, this warn- ing should really be considered almost superfluous. Our collective experience, over the past year, should have been enough to convince us all of the need to remain vigilant: especially during a festive season which (traditionally) tends to involve parties, mass- events, and large family gatherings. And yet, Dr Gauci's warning was very far from un- necessary: for the reality – not just in Malta, but in all countries that have borne the brunt of the pan- demic – is that there are clear signs of COVID-19 fatigue setting in. The United States, for instance, has just experi- enced a significant spike in both contagions and fatalities, just a few weeks after the celebration of Thanksgiving. This fact, alone, should alert us all to the dangers of a repeat performance, unless the need for precaution is taken more seriously at a national level. Moreover, there are indications that many con- tinue to flout the emergency regulations, despite consistent warnings by the health authorities. Peo- ple continue to be seen without wearing masks on a daily; or wearing hem in an improper way, that nul- lifies the (already limited) protection they may offer against further spread of the disease. This would be worrying, even without the added factor of a holiday season in which people tend, as a rule, to throw caution to the wind anyway. Meanwhile, it also bears mentioning that the highest rate of spread continues to occur among family clusters. From the cases discovered on Friday, for instance, 19 cases were family members of previously known cases, 14 were contacts of positive work colleagues, eight were from direct contact with positive cases, and two were from social gatherings with other positive cases. This suggests that one is likelier to contract COV- ID-19 from a family member, than virtually any other source. And given that Christmas is precisely a time when extended families converge for celebra- tions at private residences, it should go without say- ing that this year's celebrations should be conducted with the maximum caution possible. And yet, it remains highly debatable whether even this simple, self-evident warning will be enough to avoid a renewed spike. Ironically, part of the danger is also fuelled by the very same experience: after so many months of lim- ited social contact- coupled with high levels of stress and anxiety – there may now be additional pressure piling up to celebrate this year's festivities with even greater abandon than usual. This is particularly true of New Year's Eve: which will no doubt assume greater significance this year, as it also represents the 'end of 2020' – a global 'An- nus Horribilis', if there ever was one – and the start of a new year that should also see the arrival of a vaccine (and with it, renewed hope of an end to the crisis). But while there certainly is good cause to look for- ward to a new beginning… the end of 2020, in itself, does not necessarily mean the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, there is every reason to fear the opposite. This was, in effect, the substance of another warn- ing: this time from the Small Business Chamber (GRTU), which has expressed concern at a number of clandestine parties – some rumoured to be ca- tering for groups of over 100 people – that will take place over the festive season. One does not need to be a virologist to predict that such an eventuality will radically increase the scope for the virus to spread like wildfire through the community. Ultimately, then, Dr Gauci's warning – though it shouldn't really even be needed in the first place – was both timely and critically important. This is certainly no time to be lowering our guard. The last thing we need, at this delicate juncture, is to undo all the good work carried out by our health officials over the past year– not to mention all the hardships and sacrifices we have had to endure – all for the sake of a few hours of mindless entertain- ment. 13 December 2010 BICAL owners lament Chief Justice's decision BICAL Bank owner Cecil Pace is claiming a breach of his fundamental human rights to a fair hearing , after some 20 lawsuits he filed against the controller of his bank were trans- ferred to Judge Gianino Caruana Demajo, in an unprecedented decision by the outgoing Chief Justice. The decision was taken in June 2010 before Vincent de Gaetano took up his new post in the European Court of Human Rights. Pace's defence team – Tonio Azzopardi and Malcolm Pace – said that such a principle would set a "very dangerous legal precedent" that would allow any case by a citizen to be manoeuvred by the powers that be. "At any time during the hearing of a court case it would become possible to purposely change the presiding Judge to influence the proper administration of justice. This would set up a system of 'musical chairs' for members of the judiciary after they have already been as- signed with and heard a case for several years," Pace told MaltaToday. In a constitutional case to be filed tomorrow, Pace will argue that the measure goes against the proper administration of justice and consti- tutes a serious threat to the right to a fair hear- ing in a reasonable time. "There is nothing wrong with the Chief Jus- tice having the power to assign court cases from an administrative point of view. But it has never been nor should it be the case that during the hearing of a court case by a Judge — whoever he may be — is suddenly substituted without some very serious reason justified by law." Civil cases normally continue to be heard by the same judge unless a legally valid circum- stance arises: a judge's retirement, abstention or challenge of a judge by the parties. Some of his recent cases now were also pend- ing final judgement, after certain judges fixed a considerable number of sittings to conclude the collection of evidence by the end of the year. Cecil Pace, 80, has already won an important Constitutional case against a 1995 law that transferred all civil cases against the BICAL controller to an administrative tribunal. In 2003, the Constitutional court found that the tribunal had been "anti-constitutional". ... Quote of the Week "We are part of the world and we are in the same situation as other countries. Maybe we catch less because of our size, but the threats are always there." Customs Director General Joseph Chetcuti following record €69 million cocaine drug bust at Malta Freeport MaltaToday 10 years ago