The government has added psychologists to the team at Monaco’s Covid-19 call centre as a growing number of people seek advice on how to cope with isolation and fear.
Until just a few days ago, Monaco’s Covid-19 call centre was getting roughly 200 calls each day from people asking questions mainly about the virus, symptoms and how to avoid contracting it. That number has more than halved to around 80 a day now, but the centre has noted a portion of these people are needing advise on mental health, not just physical health.
Since confinement, nearly 7% of calls received by the centre are from those who need to speak to someone to help them alter their perspectives or to vent their concerns and frustrations about isolation.
The Prince’s government has responded to this shift by asking psychologists to join the team at the call centre. They will be providing moral support for those who are not coping well with confinement or for those experiencing anxiety over the spread of the disease.
The call centre is made up of volunteers from the Department of Health Action, the Monegasque Red Cross and a supervising doctor. Monegasque citizens, residents and employees are all welcome to ask questions in connection to the epidemic by calling +377 92 05 55 00. There is someone available to talk seven days a week from 9am to 6pm. It is also possible to send an email to covid19@gouv.mc.
Australian Formula One champion Daniel Ricciardo has admitted he is disappointed by the early cancellations of the 2020 F1 season, particularly the Monaco Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault Racing Team hosted an Instagram Q&A video on Wednesday 25th March during which the 30-year-old champion – and Monaco resident – spoke about the mental toll the cancellations are taking. Speaking from his family’s farm in Western Australia, he noted that the Monaco Grand Prix in particular was a tough one to accept.
“I watched an onboard of Monaco last night and got a bit sad,” he touchingly said in the video. “I don’t really know where we’re going to be. That one hurt me. They’re all going to hurt, for sure, Melbourne being so close as well. The reality is setting in, unfortunately.”
Ricciardo was the winner of the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix and was obviously hoping to repeat history. He made headlines when he took a fully clothed celebratory dive into the Red Bull pool – a standout image of the 2018 season. During Wednesday’s Q&A, Ricciardo obligingly jumped into his swimming pool after agreeing to do so if enough people urged him to, and revealed his other activities in self-isolation involved driving buggies and watching the sheep being sheered.
Another way he is keeping busy – driving a tractor around the farm, as he shared in this instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-CBjMkJM7f/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
The first eight races of the 2020 Formula One season have been called off due to the coronavirus. Hopes are currently still alive that the season will be abridged and not fully cancelled, with Formula One Group CEO Chase Carey saying he anticipates a 15-18 race season, though no one is sure when the new starting date will be.
As of now, the 14th June Canadian Grand Prix is still on, but there are serious doubts as to whether this will realistically happen especially in light of cancellations and postponements of other sporting events as far off as August, and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
With so many countries now on lockdown, drivers have been forced to return home to continue training remotely. Ricciardo credits training with keeping things relatively normal.
“Training’s definitely the thing that’s keeping me with that competitive mindset,” Ricciardo said. “You get a bit of anger out when you train, so that’s been my medicine for now. I feel like now is kind of perfect to get in shape. We’re forced to stay in, there’s no jet lag, there’s no airports, we can really create like a training camp which we don’t always have. It’s been nice knowing we’ve got time, we don’t have to rush it. I think you’re going to see a lot of drivers and people in general, whenever this is over, all pretty fit I hope.”
This year will be the first time the Monaco Grand Prix has not been raced since 1954.
Monaco’s Minister of State Serge Telle has revealed that a €1,000 bonus will be paid to all public service officials and agents who have been fully mobilised during the coronavirus crisis.
In an interview on Wednesday 25th March with Monaco-Matin, the Minister of State said that, at the request of HSH Prince Albert II, a special bonus will be handed out to those who have been fully engaged with and are a part of dealing with the health emergency.
Mr Telle is currently confined to his home after testing positive to the virus.
“The Prince asked us to work on the principle of an exceptional bonus which would be paid to all public service agents who are fully mobilised on the coronavirus crisis. It will be a bonus in the amount of €1,000,” said Mr Telle.
It is currently not clear who will be eligible for the bonus, though it is safe to say that front line health care workers will be at the top of the list, as well as many of the Principality’s emergency service workers.
“The perimeter and the methods of this exceptional bonus are not fixed,” said the minister. “But the principle is established. And it is a good principle: this bonus will represent, at the end of this crisis, the gratitude of the State to all those who will have mobilised without counting the management and responses to the consequences of the epidemic.”
Details outlining the distribution of funds will be discussed with the National Council at the next Monitoring Committee meeting scheduled for Monday 30th March.
Photo: Pixabay
Extra coronavirus hospital needed now, says council
The National Council is calling on the Prince’s government to create a makeshift hospital in preparation for a surge in coronavirus cases in the Principality.
In an open letter to Minister of Social Affairs and Health Didier Gamerdinger on Wednesday 25th March, the council says the Principality must anticipate its “next move” in this crisis and the possibility that the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG) will be overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.
“In the event of saturation of the Covid-19 specialist beds, provision must be made for an additional operational arrangement in an adaptable building,” says the council. “We can no longer think in weeks or even days. Every hour counts to stop the pandemic and to find courageous and effective solutions.”
The letter was written by National Council President Stéphane Valeri, Vice-President Brigitte Boccone-Pagès and Dr Christophe Robino, President of the Commission for Social Interests and Miscellaneous Affairs (Cisad), on behalf of the 24 National Councillors.
“This letter aims to better prepare for the upcoming meeting of the Monitoring Committee between the Government and the National Council, requested by the Sovereign Prince, as part of the concerted analysis of this crisis linked to Covid-19,” according to a statement by the council.
The National Council is also asking the government to provide details about the shortage of masks in the Principality, calling for all workers who are likely to be in contact with the public to be supplied with masks. “There was clearly a lack of anticipation in this area, with no autonomous strategy for the Principality. We ask for clear, precise information with verifiable quantities and distribution date,” says the council.
The government must also increase the number of people it is screening for Covid-19, says the council, adding, “In Monaco, where health is a centre of excellence, it is unfortunate that the screening policy is not ahead of schedule. The WHO recommends to screen as much as possible, as was the case in South Korea…”
Regarding the use of chloroquine to treat patients, the council is calling for Monaco to “adapt an administrative standard to this emergency situation”.
Despite the current Covid-19 crisis, the need for blood continues for patients at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG).
The government has released a statement confirming that people who wish to can still donate blood despite confinement.
Each year 3,500 blood donations are necessary for the 800 patients transfused in the Principality.
To avoid unnecessary travel, the Blood Transfusion Center (CTS) recommends calling +377 97 98 98 20 to obtain an appointment on Tuesdays between 8am and 2pm, Wednesdays between 10am and 3pm, or Thursdays between 8am and 2pm.
Donors should carry with them a form specifying that their trip is for a health reason as well as the SMS confirming the appointment at the CTS.
More information can be found at www.chpg.mc Blood Donation section.
Voxan Motors – a part of the Venturi Group – has announced that it will postpone its electric motorcycle world speed record attempt because of the Covid-19 crisis.
The Voxan development teams that have been “fine-tuning” their newest electric motorbike are currently, like the rest of the Principality, under confinement. As they are no longer able to make necessary adjustments to the Voxan Wattman motorcycle on the track, they have taken the decision to delay the world speed record attempt that was set to take place in Bolivia in July of this year.
“The health and safety of my teams is paramount,” said Gildo Pastor, President of the Venturi Group. “We will establish a new calendar of operations as soon as the health situation allows it, and announce the new operational arrangements for this project, which is very important to me personally.”
The world speed record that the Voxan team is trying to break is in a very specific category: electric motorcycles propelled by the action of one wheel in contact with the ground, partially streamlined, under 300kg (661 lb). This record currently belongs to Lightning Motorcycle’s SB220, which reached speeds in excess of 327 km/h back in 2013. The Buckeye Bullet
The attempt in July was to be made by Max Biaggi on the Uyuni salt flats of Bolivia, with the goal of hitting 330km/h. Whilst incredibly fast, this is not the fastest vehicle made by the crew at Voxan. The company created, in conjunction with a group of Ohio State University students, the Buckeye Bullet which remains the fastest electric vehicle in the world. The bullet car hit an eye wateringly fast 549.4km/h in 2016 and no one has touched it since.
Despite the delay, the Venturi Group has had an exciting 20th anniversary year with the official opening of itsnew Monaco facility earlier this month. Situated over 1,100m2 on the ground floor of the Gildo Pastor Centre in Fontvielle, the new digs represent a new era for the company and is home to Venturi, Voxan and Formula E team ROKiT Venturi Racing. The new Venturi Group premises in Fontvielle
Gildo Pastor handed the important task of creating the layout and architecture of the new facilities to Sacha Lakic, the French designer known for his achievements in fields as diverse as architecture, art de vivre, automobiles and motorcycles. Every Venturi and Voxan machine built has been designed by Sacha Lakic.
“I created a place that embodies Venturi’s values: innovation, technology, and environmental responsibility,” said Sacha Lakic, Venturi Group Designer. “This space is a place for sharing and exchanges, that symbolises our vision of mobility, our know-how and our future challenges. The eco-designed layout creates an atmosphere conducive to collaboration and creativity. It’s a unique place in which the most ambitious projects will gradually come to fruition.”
In the centre of the showroom sits Venturi’s flagship creation: the VBB-3, the fastest electric vehicle in the world (549km/h). The 11-metre-long “rocket” forms the backbone around which the Venturi and Voxan workstations are laid out.
Behind the space occupied by Venturi and Voxan is the second part of the building, home to ROKiT Venturi Racing, the Formula E team helmed by Susie Wolff. At the heart of this “competition” department is the team’s simulator, a vitally important piece of kit so central to race preparations that the rest of the facilities were designed around it.
The third and final area of Venturi’s new headquarters houses the mechanics workshops and electronics labs. In this part of the building, hidden away from view, the Voxan Wattman is currently being built – the Monaco-made motorcycle that will one day attempt to set a new world speed record in its category.
“In 2000, when I converted Venturi to electric engines, few believed we had any chance of succeeding,” said Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi Group. “Twenty years on, we are going from strength to strength, and moving into a space that will enable us to grow even further. I am delighted to see the Venturi, ROKiT Venturi Racing and Voxan Motors teams working together in an environment worthy of our ambitions”.
Top photo: Voxan Wattman motorcycle, all photos courtesy Venturi Group
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