By virtue of Legal Notice 115/2020, the Superintendent of Public Health declared, in accordance with Article 14 of the Public Health Act and with effect from the 7 March 2020, that a public health emergency exists in and applies to Malta.
As a result, the Superintendent may take any one or more of the following measures as may be considered necessary in order to reduce, remove or eliminate the threat to public health: segregate or isolate any person in any area; evacuate any persons from any area; prevent access to any area; control the movement of any vehicle; order that any person undergo a medical examination; order that any substance or object be seized, destroyed or disposed of as she may direct; or order such other action be taken as she may consider appropriate.
Any person who does not comply with any such direction by the Superintendent shall be guilty of an offence against this Public Health Act.
Quarantine:
With regard to quarantine, several legal instruments have been enacted, providing for the following:
i. any person arriving in Malta from any country must submit himself to a 14-day quarantine immediately upon arrival to Malta. This also applies to all persons living in the same residence.
ii. any person who comes in contact with a person diagnosed as suffering from the coronavirus must submit oneself to a 14-day period of quarantine immediately upon receiving an oral or written order, as the case may be, from the Superintendent of Public Health (Legal Notice 78/2020);
iii. any person who fails to obey these regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to the payment of a penalty of €3,000 for each and every occasion that the quarantine period is breached (Legal Notice 72/2020).
A. Self-Isolation
i. any person who is diagnosed as suffering from COVID-19 shall, immediately upon receiving an oral or written order, as the case may be, from the Superintendent of Public Health, submit oneself to self-isolation and shall remain in self-isolation until the Superintendent of Public Health revokes the oral or written order (Legal Notice 99/2020);
ii. any person who fails to abide by these regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to the payment of a penalty of €10, 000 for each and every occasion in which that person breaches the self-isolation order (Legal Notice 98/2020);
iii. the following persons must remain segregated in their residence and leave only to attend medical appointments, obtain medical care or treatment, acquire food, medicine, other daily necessities, or to attend to any other essential or urgent personal matter: persons of 65 years of age or over, pregnant women and persons suffering from chronic illnesses and/or medical conditions, namely insulin dependent diabetics; patients who are immunosuppressed; patients undergoing any immunosuppressive treatment; patients suffering from cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy; patients suffering, or who have suffered, from cancer having undergone chemotherapy at any time within the last 6 months; patients on dialysis; patients who are to be admitted to hospital with respiratory problem exacerbations; patients who, at any time within the last year, have been admitted to hospital with respiratory problem exacerbations; patients suffering from cardiac disease who are to undergo a cardiac intervention or a cardiac surgical procedure, or who have undergone a cardiac intervention or a cardiac surgical procedure at any time during the last 6 months; patients attending a heart failure clinic; and patients on oral steroids (Legal Notice 111/2020).
B: Public Places and Events
All public gatherings in excess of 4 persons are prohibited (other than in relation to people from the same household) Source: Legal Notice 112/2020; Legal Notice 173/2020; Legal Notice 208/2020. A breach of these regulations could give to a penalty of €100 for each breach. Source: Legal Notice 113/2020.
Further, the Government has closed several public places and cancelled several public events.
The following have been closed or cancelled:
i. schools, which, from the 21 March 2020, have been closed until the Superintendent of Public Health orders otherwise (Legal Notice 77/2020);
ii. the court, tribunals, boards, commissions, committees or other entities before which any proceedings are heard or procedures undertaken, which, from the 16 March 2020, have been closed until the Superintendent of Public Health orders otherwise (Legal Notice 65/2020);
iii. all organised events, including all cultural, recreational, entertainment, sporting and religious events and exhibitions in public or private places (Legal Notice 101/2020). By way of exception, as of the 22 May 2020, sports activities for individual and group training of not more than 6 persons in open spaces are exempt from this order and that they are subject to mitigation measures (an exemption for other organized events may also be granted) Source: Legal Notice 205/2020;
iv. bars, cinemas, gymnasiums, museums, exhibitions, discotheques, night clubs, indoor swimming pools, massage parlours, gaming premises including controlled gaming premises, bingo halls, casinos, gaming parlours, and betting shops, from the 18 March 2020. Source: Legal Notice 76/2020; Legal Notice 82/2020. A breach of these regulations can be subject to a penalty of €3,000 for each breach (Legal Notice 83/2020);
v. spas and tattooists shall remain closed as of the 22 May 2020. Source: Legal Notice 202/2020. A breach of these regulation can be subject to a penalty of €3,000 for each breach. Source: Legal Notice 96/2020; Legal Notice 172/2020; ).
As of the 22 May 2020:
i. cafeterias, snack bars, clubs, open-air markets, and lotto booths have been allowed to re-open (Legal Notice 204/2020);
a. it is to be noted that no one shall at any time smoke any tobacco product in places where food is served or within the parameters of places where food is served, such that smoking is only allowed if it is done 10 metres away from the place where food is being served (Legal Notice 206/2020);
b. it is to be further noted that restaurants, cafeterias, snack bars and clubs that have seating facilities outdoors shall principally, and as far as practicable, provide services to their clients outdoors, whereas all restaurants, cafeterias, snack bars and clubs that do not have seating facilities outdoors, shall provide services to their clients indoors, at a reduced capacity and always with the applicable measures of social distancing;
ii. shops which sell clothing, sportswear, jewellery, handbags and leather goods, costume jewellery and accessories, footwear, non-prescription eyewear, perfumeries, beauty products, haberdasheries, soft furnishings, household appliances, souvenirs, discounted items, luggage, toys, hobbies, furniture, florists and as well as the closure of other outlets which provide non-essential services such as hairdressers, barbers, beauticians, nail artists, nail technicians, have been allowed to re-open (Legal Notice 202/2020); note that certain of such shops were allowed to re-open before the 22 May 2020;
iii. vaping shops have been allowed to re-open solely and exclusively for the sale of products permissible in accordance with the Tobacco (Smoking Control) Act and for no other service, and clients are not to remain inside the vaping shops after availing themselves of such products closed (Legal Notice 202/2020).
C. Time Periods Imposed by Law
Measures concerning time periods can be split into two measures concerning time periods and the courts, and measures concerning time periods and public deeds and private writings.
With regard to measures concerning time periods and the courts, Legal Notice 61/2020 (as amended by Legal Notice 84/2020) has suspended the running of any legal and judicial times, and of prescription (also known as “statute of limitations”) in criminal and civil matters.
This means that, if the last day of any legal or judicial time or other time limit expires during the time when the courts are closed, the running of the times shall be suspended until 7 days after the re-opening of the courts.
Further, Legal Notice 141/2020 has suspended, as of the 2 April 2020, the running of any time period:
- under any substantive or procedural law, including any period of prescription and any peremptory period;
- decreed or otherwise ordered by any court, government department, government agency or public authority.
These time periods shall remain so suspended until 7 days following the repeal of the relative order of the Superintendent and shall thereafter continue to run.
- established in any agreement (whether a private writing or a public deed), including any time period for the performance of any obligation set out in such agreement, if and to the extent that the closure has a direct effect on the ability of any party to exercise its rights or to perform its obligations in terms of the same agreement.
Any such time period suspended shall remain suspended until the 20th day following the repeal of the relative order of the Superintendent and shall thereafter continue to run.
Court Registry -Note, however, that the suspension of any term which was in force before the 22 May 2020, in so far as it regards the performance of obligations relating to a registered promise of sale agreement and the expiration of a promise of sale duly registered, shall remain in force for 20 days starting from the 23 May 2020 (Legal Notice 203/2020).
Further, the local tribunals have been closed with effect from the 30 March 2020 until the Superintendent orders otherwise (Legal Notice 119/2020).
Any legal, judicial or administrative time-limit for the filing of any acts before the local tribunals shall be suspended for 20 days from the repeal of this order by the Superintendent. Any service of summons shall be suspended until a period of 10 days from the repeal of this order by the Superintendent (Legal Notice 119/2020).
As of the 4 May 2020, the registry of the Court was re-opened (Legal Notice 177/2020).
With regard to measures concerning time periods and public deeds, acts and private writings, Legal Notice 75/2020 has suspended the running of:
i. all the legal terms imposed on a notary public by law to register any deed, will, act or private writing;
ii. any period within which the notary public has to pay taxes collected by him in the exercise of his profession; and
iii. any term related to fiscal benefits, incentives or exemptions or any period within which a notary public is to submit any information or documentation to any authority or regulator pursuant to relevant notarial activity.
The suspension shall last until 20 days following the repeal of any such order by the Superintendent of Public Health.
Note, however, that the suspension of any term as in force before the 22 May 2020, in so far as it concerns the expiration of a promise of sale duly registered according to law with the Commissioner of Revenue, shall remain in force for 20 days starting from the 23 May 2020 (Legal Notice 207/2020).
Last Updated 26/05/2020