A government scheme targeting workers in the tourism industry who have been idle for months due to the slowdown caused by the COVID-19 outbreak seems to be shrouded under a veil of secrecy.

Last October the Malta Tourism Authority had issued a public call whereby these workers were offered the opportunity to alleviate their acute financial situation, by temporarily assisting the health authorities to identify contacts of those who tested positive. The initiative was also meant to give a much needed boost to contact tracing operations, which were being overwhelmed by the steep rise in positive cases. Under this scheme selected applicants would keep getting the €800 wage supplement, plus a top-up of €5.28 per hour or the difference between the wage supplement and government salary scale 10.

The MTA’s contact tracing scheme, as it was known, had sparked huge interest and more than 900 applications had been submitted.  Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne and the then Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli had lauded the scheme as a huge success.

For some reason however, the authorities seem to be have second thoughts if not cold feet, as no further pronouncements have been made since then. Applicants who were keen to earn some extra cash told Voice of the Workers Weekly that they have been left in the dark.

Last January, Shift News quoted an MTA spokesman saying the onus was on the Health Ministry as the roll out fell under the responsibility of the latter. However, no explanation was given for the delay. The MTA had said that the health authorities were currently shortlisting the applicants.

Meanwhile, as the number of COVID-19 cases reached new highs thus placing the health care system under severe strain, questions were being raised on the fate of the contact tracing scheme amid calls from front liners to beef up resources.

Voice of the Workers Weekly tried to shed light on the matter and sent questions to the Health Ministry asking if and when the scheme had been rolled out, and the number of applicants who had been engaged. However, no reply was received by the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the sharp rise in infections has prompted the government to restore most of the restrictions which had been in place this time last year when the outbreak started. This course of action threw the prime minister’s plan of returning the country to normality by May, out of the window.  The current situation in Malta contrasts with that in other EU Member States where the number of cases are in decline to the point that some restrictions are being relaxed.

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