Mask law delay blamed on law drafting "difficulty"

Friday 18 December 2020

The Chief Minister has said that law drafting issues were the reason for masks only becoming compulsory two months after the Government’s scientific advisors recommended it.

Speaking at a press conference today, the Chief Minister said that both he and Health Minister Richard Renouf had supported implementing the legislation earlier.

His comments came after Express reported this morning that minutes from the Government’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC) revealed the cell had advised compulsory mask wearing in shops “with effect from October 2020.” 

However, it was only in November that States Members debated the legislation, with legislation being signed during the final week of the month, and implemented on 1 December.

“There was a difficulty in getting the law drafting actually written in the right way,” the Chief Minister said this evening, adding it was “a matter that happens between the Law Officers and the law drafting area.

“It was a practical issue of trying to get it through, because I know both myself and the Health Minister were very keen to get it in earlier - that’s all I can say.”

Pictured: Dr Ivan Muscat remarked on how it had "taken some time" for the law to come through.

The Chief Minister’s comments were echoed by Deputy Medical Officer for Health, Dr Ivan Muscat, who said: “We did, of course, strongly recommend the use of masks in indoor public spaces from early on to curtail the spread of covid… almost in a pre-emptive manner, but it did take some time for the order to come through."