MTA issues call for second quarantine hotel as case numbers continue to rise

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) has issued a call to find a second quarantine hotel as the one currently in use is nearing full capacity.

Currently, the Corinthia Marina in St Julian’s is being used as a Covid-19 quarantine for tourists.

Sources said the hotel is nearing full capacity amid the surge in cases the country is currently experiencing.

A spokesperson for the MTA said the hotel has 200 rooms, of which 160 are occupied. This newsroom was unable to establish the number of people that are currently quarantining at the hotel.

The tourism authority said the Corinthia Marina had been chosen after a call was issued.

“A call was issued to licensed hotels, comprising of various criteria including location, access points, category and a minimum number of rooms, whereby the authorities received four submissions and the Corinthia Marina was chosen out of the four.”

The authority has now issued another call for an additional hotel, which is being evaluated.

Tourists who arrive in Malta without an approved vaccine certificate must take a PCR test and quarantine at the hotel for 14 days. They are charged €100 a night, which is not inclusive of food, drinks or other services. If they test positive, they must pay for the entire duration of their stay until they recover. The Marina has been used for this purpose since 1 June, having previously been closed down since March 2020.

In late June, Times of Malta reported that 369 tourists had been sent to quarantine at the hotel since the reopening of the tourism season on 1 June.

Initially, tourists were allowed to fly to Malta with either a negative PCR test or a vaccine certificate but the latter has now become mandatory. Tourists are, however, still allowed to fly to Malta without such a certificate on condition that they quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

It is understood that several English language students and other foreigners who were staying at other hotels and have tested positive for Covid-19 have been moved to the Marina.

As of Wednesday, Malta has 2,346 active cases, with the vast majority being unvaccinated tourists.