Malta relaxes COVID-19 restrictive rules

VALLETTA: APRIL. 8 – The government of Malta on Friday officially repealed laws restricting the congregation of groups of people, originally introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The subsidiary legislation had originally been introduced in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the authorities had limited the number of people meeting in public spaces. Through the publication of a legal notice, the government has now lifted the restriction completely as of Sunday.

The same legal notice also repealed the regulation requiring people to present their vaccination certificates for entry into venues for standing events outdoors. The capping on these events was also lifted. Indoor standing events will still require a certificate.

From April 12, the government will also relax the mandatory quarantine rules for those flying in from zones classified as red. They will now need a vaccination or recovery certificate not older than 180 days or a negative PCR test result not older than 72 hours instead.

Malta reported 659 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the official data.

-Xinhua