Restaurants, snack bars to get €1,000 grant to mitigate costs from sudden closure

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A one-off grant of €1,000 will help mitigate costs incurred by restaurants and snack bars as a result of the sudden closure because of COVID-19

Restaurants and snack bars that were ordered to close their doors because of new COVID-19 restrictions will receive €1,000 to cushion the blow from sudden closure.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said the one-off grant will be over and above the COVID wage supplement applicable to these places.

“We feel the amount is appropriate, given also the fact that they can shift operations to offering deliveries or take-away,” Bartolo told a news conference on Friday.

The decision to close restaurants and snack bars was announced on Thursday as government introduced new measures to curb the spread of the pandemic.

From today, restaurants and snack bars, including cafes, cannot offer dine-in services but may only operate a take-away and delivery service.

The one-off grant will cost public coffers €2 million is in addition to similar grants awarded previously to bars and social clubs that have remained shut since October.

Commercial bars were awarded a grant of €3,820; small bars were awarded €2,490; and bars belonging to NGOs were awarded €1,660.

Bartolo said the sudden decision to close restaurants and snack bars was dictated by science.

“In an ideal world, they should have been given notice of the closure. But we are not in an ideal world. We are in an extraordinary situation. The decision was based on the scientific advice given by the public health authorities,” Bartolo said.

He appealed for everyone’s responsibility, including inside households. “We are all responsible for our actions and the number of infections in the community. This is why I appeal for responsibility by everyone,” he said.

Source: MaltaToday.com.mt

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