‘Give the gift of not having Covid this Christmas’, Public Health Director says

“Don’t give Covid-19 as a present to your friends and relatives this Christmas”, the Director of Public Health, Dr Sohail Bhatti, has said, as he urged people to restrict gatherings of the festive period.

Christmas is traditionally the time for family reunions and parties, but Dr Bhatti has urged Gibraltarians to hold smaller gatherings with those already in their social bubble.

Dr Bhatti reinforced previous messages by advising the public to meet their friends and family virtually this Christmas and to avoid or delay Christmas parties.

“Why, having done 10 months of this awful year, would we in the sight of the finishing line stumble and fall?” he said.

“That’s the most important message, reduce the mixing as much as you can, make the excuses as much as you can.”

“You are saving people from giving them the present of Covid and they are saving you from getting Covid as well.”

“I haven’t got a magic thing to say, except what we have always been saying because what we have always said has been the right thing to do.”

“Don’t hug and kiss.”

“Don’t meet people who are not part of your social household, defer.”

“It’s giving them ‘not having Covid’, and what better gift at this time can you give someone?”