Spectators who received booster dose will return to stadia on January 17

No spectators will be allowed in any sporting events as from next Monday, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced in a press conference on Thursday.

Spectators will be allowed to return to sports stadia as from January 17 but only if they will be in possession of a COVID-19 certificate that shows that they had taken the booster dose.

The decision was made by the Health Authorities following a dramatic rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Malta in recent months, with the first cases of Omicron variant confirmed by Dr Fearne.

During his news briefing, the Health Minister said that all sporting events will continue to be held but behind closed doors, with no spectators permitted in the sporting venues.

This decision, which is valid for the next three weeks, means a return to the restrictions that were imposed on the sporting fraternity earlier this year where all federations that were given the green light by the Health Authorities and SportMalta to host their competitions, held their competitions behind closed doors.

The Health Authorities decision means that all football competitions, organised by the Malta FA, namely the Premier League, the Challenge League, the National Amateur League, and the women’s league will continue to be held but without fans present.

The same restrictions apply to other major sporting events such as basketball competitions, horse racing, handball, waterpolo, swimming, tennis, and rugby union.

Sporting events will again welcome back fans from January 17, but only those who have taken the booster dose will be permitted to enter as authorities look to step up their drive to have all the population vaccinated with the booster.

In reaction to the news, the South End Core expressed their disappointment that the fans were being denied access to the stadia despite the fact that there was never a confirmation of any COVID-19 cases from football grounds.

“We have once again being stopped from attending to football matches that will start as from the first week of January where since the stadiums were reopened there was never any confirmation of COVID-19 transmission,” the South End Core said.