VALLETTA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela announced on Monday the lifting of further measures from Friday which will see restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians opening their doors after a two-month hiatus.
"From Friday the country can start to return to normality," Abela said.
He announced that non-contact sports will also be allowed to restart with the number of people in groups revised to six from four. He said cinemas, gymnasiums, tattoo parlors, bars, schools and childcare centers will have to remain closed for now.
He said the decision to ease measures was taken on the basis of the low rate of active cases, the hospital's increased bed capacity to deal with the pandemic and the fact that the absolute majority of patients had light symptoms or no symptoms at all, with many of them recovering at home.
From Friday, services at hospitals will be resumed, beachgoers will have to respect a two-meter social distancing rule, outdoor pools can open with half their capacity, open-air cinemas can open while sports will be restricted to a maximum of six people in any group.
Giving details on the restrictions, Abela said restaurants, snack bars, cafeterias can reopen with a maximum of six people per table and minimum distances between tables.
Service providers such as hairdressers and beauticians must have an appointment system in place to restrict the number of people in enclosed spaces at any given time. Open-air markets may also reopen with social distancing measures being enforced.
Abela urged people not to be overcome by fear and to be positive that the country was slowly returning to normality. He said facts had shown that the first measures lifted on May 4 had been successful and thanked everyone for their cooperation.
The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Malta rose to 558, with 456 recovered and 6 deaths reported as of Monday. Enditem
