The government plans to extend the COVID-19 wage supplement beyond March and talks are ongoing about it with the social partners, the prime minister said on Thursday. The wage supplement was introduced last year when the pandemic broke out and slowed down the economy. It has since been extended several times and was due to expire next month. Last month the government tweaked the scheme to base it on the level of losses suffered by businesses as a result of COVID-19. Abela said that now that the country was on the path to economic recovery, it would be counterproductive for the authorities to pull the plug on economic support. “It does not make sense for us at this moment in time, when we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, to remove support that is crucial for our businesses.” Responding to media questions as to whether his aim for the country to return to business as usual in May was still achievable, Abela said he was determined as ever to reach that target. “I’m saying this with the utmost confidence. We are now leading in Europe in the number of vaccinations per capita.” He explained that combining a strong vaccination program with strong economic measures gave...