PN: Opening to vaccinated tourists only ‘extreme’ and ‘discriminatory’

PN had proposed that unvaccinated travellers be made to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure and also submit themselves to a second PCR test upon arrival in Malta

10 July 2021, 3:20pm

2 min read

The PN says the government's measures discriminate against people who cannot be vaccinated, such as children and pregnant women

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The PN has denounced the government’s plans to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for travel as “extreme” and discriminatory towards those who are unable to be vaccinated, reiterating its proposals for measures that it said the government had ignored.

“In its panic, the government has now quickly imposed extreme measures that discriminate against people who cannot get vaccinated such as children, pregnant women, vulnerable people, and people who live in countries where the vaccination rate is not high,” it said.

Earlier this week, the PN had proposed that vaccinated travellers be made to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure, whilst unvaccinated travellers be made to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure and also submit themselves to a second PCR test upon arrival in Malta. It had also suggested better logistics to prevent the crowds and chaotic scenes seen at airports over the past weeks.

Malta will require all travellers to present a recognised form of vaccination certification as of next Wednesday, July 14, following a sudden rise in virus cases in the past few days.

The PN said that the sudden spike could have been forseen, but that it had not been catered for logistically “as was evident from the chaos seen at the airport and ports,” as well as the confusion over vaccine certification.

Health authorities have since increased the number of desks processing passengers at the airport's arrivals hall to 21, from the previous eight.

The order to shut down English language schools as of next Wednesday following the discovery of several clusters of cases among language students was taken too hastily, the PN said, arguing that language schools should be allowed to continue operating, however only to vaccinated students.