14-day quarantine 'unsustainable for economy' - Malta Chamber

The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry has expressed concern over the current 14-day quarantine period for COVID-19 patients and their contacts, arguing that it is unsustainable for the economy.

It recommended that government reduce its quarantine period to 10 days for the unvaccinated, and to seven days for fully vaccinated individuals.

“The Chamber believes that this will motivate more people to take their booster and encourage higher compliance with quarantine periods, at a time when testing, contact tracing and enforcement are stretched to the limits,” Malta Chamber said in a statement on Wednesday.

It argued that with the current quarantine period, there is a risk that businesses providing essential services will be unable to operate uninterruptedly.

“Companies that cannot shift to remote working, such as manufacturing, will run into serious disruptions that will further compromise supply chains. Supermarkets, essential retail and the tourism sector will also be adversely effected,” Chamber stated.

It referred to a statement by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommending the shortening of quarantine period from 10 to five days for those who do not have any Covid-19 related symptoms.

“Also, The Malta Chamber believes that employers need more clarity and support on mandating vaccines for employees who have customer contact or who are in contact with several other employees in the execution of their job.”

“Employers need to be supported in mandating vaccines on the basis of a risk assessment,” Malta Chamber concluded.

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