Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1525812
JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 AUGUST 2024 NEWS No comparison between Mpox and COVID, virologist says More supermarkets: Lidl to replace Coca-Cola bottling plant THERE is no comparison between Mpox and COVI, virologist Chris Barbara said. "Unlike COVID, which spreads through respiratory droplets, Mpox requires close physical in- teraction for transmission, so we are not expecting the virus to be spread so easily," he told MaltaTo- day. Mpox, also known as Monkey- pox, is a viral infection first identi- fied in humans in the 1970s in the Democratic Republic of the Con- go (DRC), transmitted to humans through contact with infected an- imals. Human-to-human trans- mission can also occur, particular- ly through close physical contact with an infected person, including sexual contact. Mpox made headlines after the rise of the Clade I variant, which spread to a number of African re- gions, prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of in- ternational concern earlier this month. Symptoms of Mpox include fe- ver, muscular aches in the first seven days which then turn into large, boil-like lesions appearing on the skin. Last Monday, the Health Minis- try announced that no Mpox cas- es have been registered in Malta this year, but people travelling to affected countries are encouraged to take precautions to avoid con- tamination. "Malta's health authorities are closely monitoring any potential cases. Surveillance systems have been strengthened to quickly iden- tify and respond to any suspected cases of Mpox. Early diagnosis is crucial, and the public is being informed about recognising the symptoms," the ministry said. MaltaToday reached out to virol- ogist Chris Barbara, a household name during the COVID pan- demic, to better understand Mpox and the dangers it could pose. With COVID still fresh in peo- ple's memory, news on Mpox had people questioning whether the world should brace itself for an- other pandemic. But Barbara has assured that the two diseases are not alike. Barbara stated that Mpox spreads primarily through skin contact, which includes not on- ly direct contact but also contact with contaminated objects like bedding and clothing. "This differs significantly from respiratory viruses like COVID," he said, noting that sexual trans- mission is a significant risk factor in Mpox due to intimate skin con- tact. While the WHO have declared a public health emergency, Barbara said Malta is still at low-risk, stat- ing only high-risk individuals such as healthcare workers and those in contact with infected people should consider getting vaccinat- ed at this time. The virologist stressed on the importance of educating health- care workers in recognising Mpox symptoms, as they are the ones who would be able to flag cases if they arrive in the country. Barbara pointed out that antibi- otics do not work against Mpox, however anti-viral treatments could provide some level of pro- tection. Barbara stated that doctors are studying the new Clade I variant to see at what stage infectivity starts, "Although it is on our radar, there is no need for alarm. I think we [are already quite armed against the virus even though it hasn't hit us yet." Since November 2023, the Dem- ocratic Republic of the Congo has seen a significant increase in Mpox cases due to MPXV Clade I. According to the Africa CDC Ep- idemic Intelligence Report issued on 9 August 2024, over 17,000 Mpox cases have been reported in Africa in 2024, with over 500 deaths. Additionally, in 2024, cases of Mpox linked to MPXV Clade I have been reported in the Central African Republic and the Repub- lic of Congo, and cases linked to MPXV Clade II have been report- ed in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa. Clade I Mpox tends to cause a higher number of severe infections and have a higher mortality rate than Clade II Mpox. On 15 August 2024, an imported case of MPXV clade I was report- ed by Sweden with more imported cases being expected in the Euro- pean Union. THE Planning Authority will be considering a rare application proposing a development that is significantly less visually intru- sive than what was previously ap- proved. On 12 September, the Planning Board will meet to decide wheth- er to approve a Lidl supermarket and a car park instead of the al- ready-approved 150 apartments and three showrooms, at the site of the shuttered General Soft Drinks factory in Qormi. The development is being pro- posed in a joint application pre- sented by Lidl and the Mizzi group, whose subsidiary is the General Soft Drinks company, now located in Marsa. The only downside is that the supermarket will be partially fronting a residential area, where supermarkets are only allowed by planning policies if there is "a strong planning justification" for them. The proposed supermarket will have a frontage on both Mdi- na Road, which is designated as a commercial area, and on Triq il-Vitorja, which is designated as a residential area. According to a case officer's re- port recommending the develop- ment, the proposed elimination of the residential blocks and show- rooms, replaced by a low super- market structure and an open car park, will inevitably have a lesser visual impact on the surroundings while creating less traffic than the approved development. Transport Malta has also issued its clearance for the development because the expected trip gen- eration will be lower than that of the residential development approved in 2021. According to a traffic impact study, while the supermarket is expected to gener- ate between 120 and 146 car trips in peak hours, the residential de- velopment would have generated between 157 and 305 car trips in peak hours. Originally, the residential pro- ject had been approved in 2021 over the 7,558 sq.m site of the for- mer Coca-Cola bottling plant. According to the project's archi- tect, the supermarket will have a vehicular entrance from Mdina Road, which will allow smooth entry into the car park. Customer vehicles will only be allowed to exit via Triq il-Vitorja. Unloading vehi- cles will access the site from Mdina Road, so as not to create any im- pact on residential amenities. Moreover, the traffic study con- cludes that the supermarket will capture traffic that is already on the network and will reduce pres- sure on the roundabouts at either end of Triq Manuel Dimech as a result of the creation of a more ac- cessible supermarket for custom- ers arriving from the west. The height of the supermarket will vary from 4.50m to 7.94m, and will mostly face Triq il-Vitor- ja, while the remaining residen- tial block, consisting of just four apartments, will rise to 17.50m on Triq Alexandra. Although the Planning Authori- ty's policy regulating supermarkets states that "all large supermarkets should be subject to a Retail Impact Assessment" to assess their impact on trade in their catchments ar- ea, the case officer concluded that such an assessment is "futile con- sidering the site location and the zoning of the area." The supermarket will be sited in catchment area roughly midway between Qormi's Pavi supermar- ket, and a prospective supermar- ket at the former SWM Cortis premises in Ħaż-Żebbuġ. The proposal includes 122 park- ing spaces in the supermarket's open car park. The Planning Au- thority's parking formula requires one parking space for every 10 sq.m of customer floor space, which in this case amounts to 1,200 sq.m. This means the car park will provide the 120 parking spaces required. On the other hand, the park- ing formula requires one parking space for each flat and two for each penthouse. While the open car park satisfies the parking re- quirement for the supermarket, no parking is being provided for the four residential units on Triq Alexandra. Therefore, a contribu- tion of €23,000 to the Authority's Urban Improvement Fund is re- quired to make up for the shortfall of these parking spaces. JULIANA ZAMMIT jzammit@mediatoday.com.mt New Lidl supermarket set to be built instead of proposed showroom and 150-apartment complex at former Coca-Cola factory Symptoms of Mpox include fever, muscular aches in the first seven days which then turn into large, boil-like lesions appearing on the skin Virologist Chris Barbara says Malta still a low- risk country despite Mpox cases recorded in Sweden (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)