Malta is set to introduce mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals at the Malta International Aiport, Prime Minister Robert Abela has revealed.

Abela, who was speaking in an interview on ONE TV, said that the government plans to introduce the measure in the coming days.

Ever since Malta reintroduced ports to commercial travel on 15th July, the number of active cases in the country has spiked from single-digits to 557. Yesterday, 72 new cases were announced, the largest single-day figure since the pandemic hit the island.

In the interview, Abela rolled out a list of “facts” in a defiant response to criticism of his handling of a fresh COVID-19 spike, insisting Malta has the lowest number of total cases in Europe.

While Malta does have some of the lowest numbers of total cases, it currently ranks as one of the highest when it comes to rate for every 100,000 people.

He described recent criticism as “panic caused by misinformation on social media”.

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