Doctors on one-hour strike in protest at ‘unscientific interference’ on COVID-19 restrictions

Public health doctors will be going on a one-hour strike on Thursday, 20 August, over a reversal of COVID-19 restrictions on bars.

The Medical Association of Malta said it was declaring the one-hour strike tomorrow for all doctors working in public health from the grade of foundation doctor to that of consultant from 8am-9am.

Doctors working at the swabbing centres are exempted from this directive. The directive is not applicable to the Chief Medical Officer and the Superintendent of Public Health.

“This one-hour strike is being ordered in protest against political and unscientific interference by other ministries in the work of public health doctors, with the result that faulty decisions are being taken by other ministries which do not have a scientific basis and may result in illness in the general population and the medical profession alike,” the MAM said.

“This symbolic protest is being ordered to show that public health doctors cannot take responsibility for decisions which are taken without their knowledge or against their advice, and which may result in serious harm to their health or their colleagues.”

All other MAM directives remain suspended, but may be reactivated should implementation and enforcement of the public health measures announced on Monday not be satisfactory, the MAM said.

A legal notice issued on Tuesday evening loosened the very restrictions placed that same day for COVID-19 prevention to close bars.

The MAM said the legal notice was “completely different” to what was announced by the Superintendent of public Health earlier in the week in a bid to control the COVID-19 spike.

On Monday Health Minister Chris Fearne announced that bars, discos and clubs would be closed from Wednesday and only those with a restaurant would be allowed to remain open. However, the legal notice, allows them to stay open as long as their patrons are seated at a table and served food and drinks. The Malta Tourism Authority further stated this could be a simple serving of crisps at a table of seated patrons.

MAM said the decision undermined public health measures aimed at controlling the epidemic. “The Malta Tourism Authority is in self-destruct mode and fomenting epidemics again, putting profit before health. The government should offer financial compensation to bars and clubs and not act irresponsibly endangering the lives of people.”

The association said that it had understood that only bars with a licence to function as a restaurant would be allowed to remain open. “Serving a bag of crisps with a drink does not modify your licence, neither does it change the genetics of a virus. Whoever drafted the legal notice is insulting the intelligence of all the Maltese people,” MAM said.

Furthermore, it said that by promoting mass clubbing events, the Ministry for Tourism had been responsible for causing a major epidemic in Malta, with one of the highest numbers of daily cases in Europe, per population size, and putting Malta on various travel blacklists that had left the tourism industry in “tatters” and on the way to complete shutdown.

“MTA officials should realise that disregarding the advice of the Superintendent of Public Health renders itself, and whoever follows its notice, liable to civil and criminal damages should patients become seriously ill and die.”

The association said it will be meeting today to discuss whether to reactive directives for industrial action.

MTA statement 

On Wednesday the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA)  clarified that the legal notice makes it clear that food and drink at bars and clubs may be served only at the table to sitting patrons.

The MTA said that this was because there was an emphasis on patrons being seated and not standing, in order to implement social distancing.

The MTA said that the serving of food is to be interpreted as snacks and platters, in the "spirit of reasonableness and common sense".

The Authority warned that attempts to get around the rules will not be tolerated.

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