COVID risks becoming totally unmanageable, pathologists warn in call for strict measures

Pathologists says government treating vaccination as circuit-breaker, but vaccine will not reduce infections in the immediate future

Malta College of Pathologists president James Degaetano
Malta College of Pathologists president James Degaetano

Malta’s pathologists, one of the most vocal critics of specialist colleges on Malta’s COVID strategy, has called on the government to take the bull by the horns and control the pandemic’s spread before it becomes “totally unmanageable”.

Malta currently has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in Europe and one of the lowest in terms of restriction measures.

“Our hospitals are once again struggling to cope with the COVID admissions, our ITUs are nearly full and worryingly, younger patients are now being admitted with complications from the virus,” Malta College of Pathologists president James Degaetano said.

The MCP said it was deeply alarmed by the rapidly escalating numbers of COVID-19 cases over the last few weeks. “Although the situation has not been under control since the start of the second wave, it is clear that the token mitigation measures,  non-enforcement of restrictions and people letting down their guard is resulting in the rapid spread of the virus,” Degateano said.

“Hospital admissions increased following the Christmas and New year period and once again after the carnival recess, suggesting that this is the result of gatherings. The impact the UK variant of the virus has is still uncertain.”

The MCP said the message coming across from government and the health authorities seemed to give the impression that the ongoing vaccination programme is the be-all-and-end-all of the pandemic. 

“The vaccine is not a mitigation measure and it is not a circuit-breaker. It will not reduce numbers in the immediate future, as we have already witnessed. Mitigation measures need to be urgently escalated, including prohibiting the mixing of families, reducing the numbers of people allowed to aggregate and temporary closing of non-essential services. Strict enforcement of measures needs to come into play.

“In particular, with Easter on the horizon, mitigation measures must be escalated during the Easter holidays, including banning of family gatherings, banning holiday travel to Gozo and enforcement of strict measures in restaurants. Public gatherings must be prohibited and more emphasis needs to be put on online teaching. In addition, it is crucial that people do not get a false sense of security from being vaccinated, especially with the rise of new virus variants.”