Coronavirus: Deputy PM launches investigation into claims on prefabricated hospital bids

Health Minister Chris Fearne has ordered an investigation into claims of wrongdoing in bids for the building of a prefabricated hospital.

Opposition MP Jason Azzopardi said in parliament that the hospital, which will be built in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, “is a scandal in the making”.

During a press conference on Thursday where new restrictive measures were announced, Fearne said that a board deciding bids for the prefabricated hospital has been ordered to halt its operations pending allegations by the PN MP.

"Instead of taking possession of our three hospitals in this time of crisis by using the law his own Government enacted yesterday, giving him unfettered power to take over any immovable property or business under a draconian 1963 law, in times of national emergency, Robert Abela prefers frittering away millions so that a friend of the Labour Party gets richer," Azzopardi said in a Facebook post.

On Monday the government issued a call for the construction of a prefabricated hospital to be completed in eight weeks.

The contract will be awarded to the tenderer submitting the cheapest price offer that also satisfies the administrative and technical criteria.

The facility will be built in one of the car parks near Mater Dei Hospital.

On Thursday government announced a lockdown for people aged over 65 and those with health-related vulnerabilities.

The measure is expected to impact around 118,000 people according to the deputy PM.

READ ALSO: Fearne announces lockdown for over-65s and vulnerable groups, including pregnant women