Remember the €100 vouchers, which the government promised a few months ago? Well, the government will be announcing how the vouchers will be distributed in the coming days, said the Prime Minister yesterday.

“Over the next few days, we will announce how these vouchers will be distributed, but the target remains that from 7 Juin, those vouchers will start being utilised,” said Robert Abela.

The voucher scheme was extended and announced during the Budget 2021, with €60 to be spent at restaurants and €40 to be spent on goods and services. The first scheme gave the population €80 to spend on restaurants and accommodation and €20 to spend on retail.

This renewed voucher scheme will see €45 million worth of vouchers distributed to everyone aged 16 and over. Foreign students coming to Malta to learn English will also be receiving dedicated vouchers to be spent in the local market, as a means of helping English-Language schools, most of which have been dealt a heavy blow as a result of the pandemic.

Malta is going forth with the re-opening plan and Abela is appealing to the public to take the COVID-19 vaccine, noting that the country’s vaccination strategy has become all the more crucial, especially when taking into consideration that the government is planning on removing more measures.

“We can’t have a lowering of the vaccination rate, this will create problems. I can understand that maybe there are youths full of strength that show a bit of skepticism to the vaccine, but this is a huge mistake,” he said. He went on to add that without the vaccine, travel and public events will be off-limits.

With the EU setting the foundations for a vaccination certificate, which would only be given to those who have been vaccinated, it’s highly likely that any overseas travel and even certain mass events will be off-limit for those without the relevant certificate.