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2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS Christmas specials • COVID-19 A tale of two waves Malta had registered just nine deaths by the end of the first COVID-19 wave in May. Up until going to print, the number had risen to almost 170 in Christmas. But health services appear to have coped and active cases are again declining. How Malta lost control over the second wave but avoided a devastating viral tsunami JAMES DEBONO IF there was one day which captured the collective spir- it of the nation as it struggled against the virus, it was the col- lective display of appreciation for front-liners on 17 March, when thousands took to their balconies to applaud doctors and nurses keeping the country safe, during the weeks of partial lockdown. Despite a spike in cases and deaths since the start of a deadly second wave in mid-August, the resilience and efficiency of the Maltese national health service remained a constant all through a challenging year. It was a re- minder that after decades of neoliberal orthodoxy, efficiency and public ownership were not antithetical. Indeed, never be- fore has the spirit of public ser- vice and nationalised services proven more crucial. One clear sign of this was that Malta boasted the third largest number of swabs in the EU, and one of the highest in the world. During the first wave of COVID as more people were swabbed, more infected people were iso- lated thanks to contact-tracing. Malta appeared close to becom- ing COVID-free by mid-July when only three active cases were recorded. Insulated from the world and all places of entertainment shut down, Malta could practice an effective strategy. For Dr Chris Barbara, Mal- ta's most prominent virologist, Malta's high rate of swab tests was the key to Malta's success- ful containment of the disease during the first wave. "The more swabs you take today, the more infected people you detect and isolate from the communi- ty. This is why swabbing is not a statistical census to measure the people infected by COVID-19 but an effective tool in reducing numbers. For the more people you swab now, the less cases of COVID-19 you will have in the next weeks, simply because you would have removed more in- fected fish from the pool, which would otherwise have infected more fish." Strong leadership during a crisis Malta's compliance and resil- ience during the first wave came in the wake of strong leader- ship, with the government and health authorities sending a clear message to the population to practice social distancing and for the elderly to stay put in lockdown. Daily briefs by Health Super- intendent Charmaine Gauci, united the nation in a common sense of purpose while health workers were saluted from bal- conies in a collective show of appreciation. In the words of paediatrician Simon Attard Montalto, Malta was hailed as the 'best model' in pandemic management, "with a strict policy of track-trace-and- isolate cases". This was made possible thanks to the support given to the health authorities which "efficiently and effective- ly mobilised front-liners includ- ing the police, and a frightened but compliant population". This formula worked, "bringing the local pandemic under tight control within a two-month pe- riod". A MaltaToday survey showed Robert Abela getting a record trust rating of 62% in April. The government reaped the fruits of an effective health strategy, which has not only contained infection rates but also paved the way for an incremental lift- ing of measures. Reality vindi- cated the government's choice not to go for a total lockdown as initially proposed by the Oppo- sition, which at first was shoot- ing from the hip before rallying behind a national consensus in- formed by expert opinion. Health minister Chris Fearne's handling of the coronavirus cri- sis has earned him top marks across the board with 91.4% giv- ing him a high score in a Malta- Today survey. Abela's more op- timistic tone also struck a chord not just with business lobbies but also with a working-class constituency which, unshel- tered by domestic comforts, was just as eager to return back to normality in its daily struggle to make ends meet. Restrictions were also im- posed and subsequently lifted in an orderly way, with the gov- ernment rejecting calls for a to- tal lockdown except for over 65s and the closure of shops, bars, restaurants and gyms. These restrictions were accompanied by financial assistance to the worst-hit sectors and a basic in- come of €800 for those who had lost their job. Moreover, despite the economic cost of lockdown, the country was spared mass layoffs. The economic cost Unlike the rest of the Eu- rozone, Malta's economy re- mained with its head above the water in the first three months despite COVID-19's shock im- pact. Figures released by the Na- tional Statistics Office showed how the economy grew by 0.5% in the first quarter. The growth is a far cry from what the coun- try had been experiencing, but given the exceptional circum- stances created by the pandem- ic, it signalled resilience. When the pandemic reached Malta's shores in the second week of March, non-essential retail outlets were shut down, schools closed and public gath- erings effectively banned. But it was the closure of all overseas travel that had a major impact because it starved the country of important export cash from tourism. The economy stalled, workers were placed on short- er work weeks, some lost their jobs, and many businesses unaf- fected by forced closures expe- rienced lower incomes. Government's first reaction to the economic crisis came on 18 March, when it announced a package made up primarily of tax deferrals and loan guaran-