Failure in contact tracing is having a negative impact on health and education, the Nationalist Party said today.

In a press conference addressed by Opposition Health Spokesperson Stephen Spiteri and Opposition Spokesperson for Education Clyde Puli, they warned that contact tracing is failing outside and also failing in schools, and with the surge in numbers of active cases of Covid-19 it is putting a strain on health service frontliners, teachers and students in education.

“This is far from the picture that the government is trying to portray in terms of pandemic management,” they said.

Spiteri said that, “we must work to alleviate the spread of the virus, with the growing numbers being a major concern leading to an impact on the health sector, the frontliners and especially the hospital that is not keeping up.”

He said that the Government should also increase resources, particularly human resources, and also increase enforcement, monitoring and inspections to ensure that there is no abuse in the health directives.

Spiteri said that transparency is needed in the vaccination programme so that no one falls behind, is discriminated against or is exceeded, especially vulnerable people.

Clyde Puli said that despite the lack of a plan and organisation by the Education Ministry, educators have made a great effort to ensure that schooling continue and function well.

He stressed that the growing number of active cases is also continuing to affect schools, with an increase in cases and quarantine for teachers and students, and this also because contact tracing has failed, with mandatory quarantine being started later than it should have been because it is taking too long to contact people.

Clyde Puli also spoke about the logistics of administering the vaccine to Gozitan teachers by sending them to Malta, or cases where others from B’Buga have had to go to Mellieha.

He said that there needs to be a clear plan on the part of the Government on the final examinations and assessments of the year, a strong remote learning system if needed, guidelines if schools are to close due to the increase in cases and how the rise in absenteeism in the classroom will be addressed.

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