COVID-19: Group gatherings in public spaces reduced to 10 people

Group gatherings in public will be cut down to 10 people from 15 as from 1 October as government tightens restrictions to lower the risk of coronavirus spread

30 September 2020, 2:18pm
by Laura Calleja

1 min read

Group gatherings in public have been reduced to 10 people

The maximum number of people allowed to gather in public open spaces has been reduced to 10 persons from 15, the Health Ministry has announced.

The decision which was taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 comes into effect on Thursday, 1 October.

This means that in public open spaces, groups of more than 10 people will not be prohibited including in queues and at bus stops unless social distance is maintained between them.

The measure does not apply to people living in the same residence.

Persons caught in groups of more than 10 are fined €100 per person per infringement. If the person, however, admits fault and pays up before the cut off date, the fine goes down to €50.

The previous limit on public group gatherings was reduced to 15 in August when coronavirus cases started to rise exponentially. The latest measure to tighten the restriction comes as schools have started to reopen.

On Wednesday, 23 COVID-19 cases were registered overnight bringing the total number of active cases to 462.

So far, 34 people have died due to the virus.

Laura Calleja is features editor at MaltaToday