Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1392839
9 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 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 latest surge in COVID-19 infec- tions comes at a time when travel restrictions across Europe are being eased. Malta is no exception and the past fort- night has seen active cases shoot up to 1,000 as the daily rate of new infections continued to increase. e numbers are shocking but there is a crucial difference between now and a few months ago when infections also shot out of the roof. With more than 80% of residents in Malta fully vaccinated, the number of hospitalisations has remained relatively low. Until Tuesday, Health Minister Chris Fearne reported that seven patients were hospitalised with coronavirus and one was receiving treatment in the intensive therapy unit. e patient at ITU is not vaccinated. e health authorities have always in- sisted since the start of the pandemic on the importance to maintain control so as not to allow the health services to be- come overwhelmed. is does not appear to be the case as yet, despite the high numbers of new in- fections and active cases being reported. Within this context, the government has not felt the need to introduce any re- strictions apart from shutting down Eng- lish language schools and introducing a quarantine period for unvaccinated trav- ellers coming to Malta. e latter two decisions were a reaction to the genesis of new cases witnessed over the past few days, which included a number of foreign students in Malta to study English and unvaccinated visitors. However, the manner in which the deci- sion was taken leaves much to be desired. e situation with language schools could have been foreseen since the num- ber of vaccinations among teenagers abroad is still way behind Malta and in some countries not even authorised yet. e sector should have been dealt with in a specific manner, given also the ex- pected behaviour of carefree young peo- ple, who aggregate in large numbers in entertainment hotspots and beaches. It would have been preferable if talks with the schools happened before the start-stop decision that sent the sector into renewed turmoil. Admittedly, such decisions are not easy to make and the world over is adopting ad hoc measures to try and mitigate the impact of new variants and rising cases. e only certainty in all this mayhem is that vaccinations appear to be providing protection against the virus and mini- mising the severity of infections in those cases when a vaccinated person still gets sick. is is why the vaccination drive must continue in full force. It is positive that foreigners living in Malta who were not reached in the past months will now have access to walk-in clinics where they can get vaccinated. However, this country's dependence on tourism means that at any one point the population on the island will experience an influx of people not necessarily vac- cinated. It is within this context that the deci- sion to impose a quarantine period on unvaccinated travellers was a positive one. It will help control the influx while respecting the principle of freedom of movement. Indeed, that is how it should have been from day one given the disparity in vacci- nation rates across Europe. e limitation does impact the tourism industry but it will hopefully be mitigat- ed by a relaxation of other measures to allow bigger events to be held. People are itching for a return to nor- mality, especially if they are inoculated. is yearning cannot be ignored after more than a year of restrictions and dis- ruptions to social and economic life. e authorities are conscious of this growing thirst for normality but caution remains the operative word for the fore- seeable future. Balancing the yearning for normality with caution 15.7.2021