The covid 19  pandemic has had a significant impact on every country’s economy, not to mention its immeasurable effects on the global business climate. Government leaders have had to go back to the drawing board to reflect on the pandemic’s realities and devise new ways to deal with it. One such country is Malta. The small European country showed an applaudable containment of the first wave of the coronavirus as it was well prepared with strategic measures in place. That resulted from the great collaboration of the public health officers, the government, and the general compliance of Malta’s small population. That would put it in the limelight with recognition from WHO. The Commonwealth General Secretary also stated that Malta had done the best in the whole of Europe.

According to news sources such as Karl Scranz, Malta seemed to have managed the covid 19 pandemic by May 2020, reporting only a few cases up to mid-June, followed by several days without identifiable cases. The country then transitioned to a ‘new normal’ phase, with the media playing a significant role in promoting mitigation measures. That would see the small nation lift some of the imposed restrictions to recover the national economy. The situation seemed to be stable as the Maltese economy started picking up until the second wave of the coronavirus erupted. A stiff increase in covid 19 positive cases was reported, which further strained its public health sector.

The second wave of covid 19 in Malta was characterized by high community spread, increased hospitalization, and invasive ventilation, although it wasn’t as high compared to other European countries. The country imposed a new series of restrictions such as banning meetings of more than 100people, closure of dance floors, minimizing hospital visits, limitation of movement for older people and those with underlying medical conditions, wearing masks, sanitizing, among other mitigation measures.

Impact of Covid 19 on the Maltese economy

Like the rest of the other countries across the globe, the Maltese government’s aim in lifting the covid 19 restrictions in May and June 2020 was to recover the economy. What was thought to be an economic benefit would later turn out to be a nightmare with the second wave of covid 19 that saw the tourism sector mostly suffer since Malta was labeled a high-risk country by several European countries.

It also led to additional strains on the public health sector due to the stiff increase in covid 19 positive cases, ICU cases, and the need to quarantine health care workers due to inadvertent susceptibility to the virus.

Mitigating the Spread and the Way Forward

Malta transitioned from a country that had successfully dealt with the covid 19 pandemic to a high-risk country in a short time. However, the Maltese public health sector is focused on containing the viral spread through the government’s collaboration in enforcing mitigation measures. The country has more centers now to meet the growing testing demands of its population, and more measures on social distancing are in place.

As everyone looks forward to a new normal, the Maltese government continues to build what had been previously achieved by boosting the labor market. Its investment in education and proper training is a long term strategy to prepare an upskilled modern society that can conform to a digital, modern, and sustainable labor market.