Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1391768
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 11 JULY 2021 NEWS Almost everyone agrees that only fully vaccinated travellers should visit Malta KURT SANSONE EVEN before Chris Fearne an- nounced that Malta will only allow fully vaccinated travellers to enter, a MaltaToday survey had found that almost everyone agreed with such a measure. The survey was carried out be- tween 28 June and 6 July as tour- ist arrivals started to soar and COVID-19 cases started touch- ing double numbers for the first time in months. In the 24 hours up to noon on Saturday, 109 new cases were recorded. The spike means that active cases now stand at 359, according to the latest figures is- sued by the health ministry. Asked whether they agreed whether people entering Malta should be fully vaccinated, an overwhelming 95.8% said yes. Only 2.2% disagreed with the suggestion, while 2% were un- sure. Agreement with such a meas- ure was uniformly strong across all age groups and among men and women. On a regional basis, Gozo reg- istered the 'lowest' support at 84.4%, with 10.4% of Gozitans unsure whether they agreed with the proposal. Political allegiance made no difference either – 96.9% of PN voters in the 2017 election and 97.9% of Labour voters agreed that travellers to Malta should be fully vaccinated. Before Friday, travellers to Malta could come here if they had a negative PCR test taken not more than 72 hours before entering the island. Travellers could also present a COVID vaccine certificate showing they have taken two jabs. The ar- rangements were in line with the EU Green Pass. However, in the wake of two consecutive days where COV- ID-19 infections soared as a re- sult of imported cases, Health Minister Chris Fearne and Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci announced on Friday that only fully vaccinated travellers will be allowed into Malta. Malta is the first EU country to impose the vaccine certificate as the only valid requirement for travellers wanting to enter the country. On Friday, Fearne also an- nounced that English language schools will close on 14 July, with students attending these schools having been the principle cause for the latest surge. The MaltaToday survey was carried out well before Friday's press conference but the results paint a picture of a nation that still values a cautious approach to reopening, especially in the tourism sector. The survey polled 651 respond- ents who were chosen randomly and stratified according to re- gion, age and gender. The mar- gin of error is 4.9%. Cases 30,960 Active 359 Recoveries 30,181 Deaths 420 Vaccinations 703,928 LATEST COVID-19 www.maltatoday.com.mt/covid19