These are the leading stories in local newspapers on Monday.
Both
Times of Malta and
The Malta Independent lead with a report about the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Malta.
The
Times of Malta also refers to comments by Rachel Grech, a staff nurse at
the Infectious Diseases Unit at Mater Dei Hospital who also became the first Maltese person to get vaccinated. She is urging people to get vaccinated.
The Malta Independent meanwhile reports that l-Istrina - the annual charity marathon in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, raised €6.5 million on Saturday.
L-Orizzont publishes an interview with a pharmacist who says that while it will take some time for life to get back to normal, the new vaccine offers a ray of hope.
Malta’s incredible show of solidarity: L-Istrina telethon collects €6.6m
The annual national charity telethon L-Istrina in aid of the Community Chest Fund Foundation raises €6.6 million despite year blighted by COVID-19 pandemic
26 December 2020, 10:22am
by Kurt Sansone
The annual Boxing Day charity telethon L-Istrina collected €6.6 million in what was an incredible show of solidarity despite the COVID-19 crisis.
The telethon, which started at noon and ended at midnight, collected more than it did last year when €6.2 million were raised.
Organisers were surprised at the massive response by people and companies in a year blighted by the coronavirus pandemic.
President George Vella thanked the nation for its incredible show of support and promised that the money would be put to good use in aid of those who seek help.
Over €2.3 million in telethon cash raised by parties in 2020
COVID-19 affects fund-raising efforts but millions already collected by political parties and charities
24 December 2020, 10:48am
by Paul Cocks
PN leader Bernard Grech and other party officials celebrate at end a fundraising telethon on 6 December during which the party collected €324,450 in donations Prime Minister Robert Abela, with his wife Lydia and daughter Giorgia Mae made an appearance during a PL fundraiser on 13 December
Political parties raised around €2.3 million during fund-raising marathons organised so far in 2020, while the country struggled to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and the austerity measure introduced to curb its spread.
If L-Istrina Wouldn t Exist, my Son Will Spend the Rest of His Life in a Bed - Lucienne Haj Moussa bay.com.mt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bay.com.mt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
President George Vella on Thursday thanked the public for obeying the directives of the health authorities in the interest of their health and that of their loved ones.
In his message for Christmas, the President said that the fact that this was going to be a socially distant Christmas should not reduce the spirit of Christmas which reached its peak in family unity.
He had a word for those who lost a loved one to COVID-19 passing on his condolences and expressing solidarity.
Vella told the elderly who have to spend this Christmas alone that all the Maltese and Gozitans are thinking of them. He urged family members to do whatever is possible, such as call or send a gift or a card, to these elderly, who, although isolated, were not forgotten.