Prime Minister Robert Abela spoke about a lack of personal responsibility being seen in Malta following a spike in COVID-19 cases over the last month.

“This message of personal responsibility is not being delivered to the people,” Abela said during a Labour Party event in Gozo today. His comments come following images of crowds packing St George’s Bay and Spinola Bay following clubs and bars being closed at 11pm last Friday evening following new health guidelines aimed to curb the spread of the virus.

Lamenting that people decided to congregate on the beach instead of going back home after bars closed, he went on to emphasise how the behaviour of each and every one in Malta will determine how long the pandemic – and the subsequent health guidelines meant to limit it – remain in Malta.

“What we do, you and I, will determine how many restrictions we need to introduce,” Abela said. “For me, its clear – there are no compromises to make when it comes to the health of our people, and I’ve always said we need to balance health and economy.”

“The health of our country will depend on how responsible each and every one of us will be.”

He went on to praise his cabinet members for their hard work in addressing the pandemic, and mentioned Health Minister Chris Fearne for having a European-wide impact.

Calling Maltese people “the people of the George Cross”, he said it was time not to think of ourselves only, but to think of the Maltese people “as a whole”.

During his speech, Abela also vowed that Maltese people would be among the first in Europe to have the COVID-19 vaccine, and vowed a better and more sustainable future for Gozo, with a stronger focus on high-quality tourism.

What did you make of Abela’s perspective?