LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Dozens of Italian students are stranded in Malta following the Maltese government’s decision to close the 30 English language schools on the island due to confirmed positive Covid-19 cases amongst Italian, French and Spanish students. All embassies, including the Italian Embassy in Malta are in contact with the local health authoritiies and the students. All foreign students were requested by the Maltese government to leave Malta by not later than next Wednesday. According to local reports, there are around 50 Italian students who were found positive to COVID-19, while few tens of others who were found part of the same cluster, were ordered to stay in quarantine in a hotel located in St. Julians. Since Monday 5 July, the number of active vases has shot up from 79 to 457. The Health Ministry confirmed that a cluster of English-language students were among the new detected cases. The Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations (FELTOM) and its member schools expressed shock at government’s decision to close down language schools following a spoke in Covid-19 cases. FELTOM said it was “unprepared and shocked by the government’s unexpected and rigid decision to close down” language schools which it said will inevitably lead to significant economic consequences for the entire tourism industry, its employees and its stakeholders.
However, Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela today downplayed the cause for concern but stated that the government had to act immediately. “We needed to implement a clinical, but difficult, response, and this was what we did,” Abela said.
(ITALPRESS).
