 Many of the masks will have been manufactured in the Principality. Swimwear company Banana Moon has made 800 masks to be distributed and fashion house Bettina are cranking them out at a rate of 1,000 per day, soon to be double that amount for a total of 80,000. To fill in the gaps, two Italian firms have been commissioned to supply 120,000 extra masks.
Never in its 110-year history has the Oceanographic Museum ever had to close its doors for more than a few days. Even during two World Wars the museum remained open to the public.
In April, thousands of families normally flood the dark corridors of the museum’s aquarium to admire the thousands of fish, corals, and the new turtle rehabilitation centre.
But the only people to grace this grand old dame now are a team of dedicated staff, tasked with keeping its inhabitants healthy and the aquarium running smoothly during lockdown.
To understand more about how the aquarium operates behind closed doors, Monaco Life spoke to its curator Olivier Brunel, who was just getting geared up to clean the turtle enclosure.
Monaco Life: The aquarium is the main drawcard of the Oceanographic Museum. How many fish live there?
That’s a difficult question to answer. While it is easy to keep track of the number of big fish and sharks, it is difficult to know the exact number of fish in the aquarium, like clown fish for example. But we estimate it to be between 6,000 and 10,000 fish. Meanwhile, we have over 300 fish species and 550 species of corals.
Is it strange to be inside the aquarium now during lockdown, with no visitors?
We are getting used to it now, but at first it was very strange to see the museum empty with no visitors, as well as no colleagues.
Well, we actually have the technical team still working, and those in charge of cleaning and disinfecting the museum, so it’s nice to have them here. And some of the administrative teams are here also. The aquarium team is now made up of between six to eight people to reduce the amount of contact we have between each other, and we alternate the days that we are physically working on site. There are around 20 to 25 people in the museum currently, whereas normally there are more than 100 staff working simultaneously.
Why is it important for staff to remain at the aquarium during lockdown?
It is incredibly important that we are here. Firstly, we have to take care of the fish, to feed them and keep an eye on them. We also have to check the temperature of the water, lights, pumps, oxygen etc – everything that keeps the fish alive. Thankfully, I can also connect to the network from my computer at home to check levels.
Normally, we clean the glass panels of the aquariums for visitors to see the fish. We must continue to do this – even though there are no visitors – because dirt will build up and it will become very difficult to remove after a week, for example.
So, we basically maintain the daily work schedule as we did before. We haven’t actually changed many things, we have just reorganised the work to be done with less people.
So, how many people normally pass through the Oceanographic Museum?
Each year, there are 650,000 visitors, so for the fish and for us it can get very busy, particularly during the summer.
We have seen some interesting videos from across the world of animals’ reactions during lockdown, like the penguins let loose in a Chicago zoo. Do you have any similar quirky stories or have you noticed a difference in behaviour of the fish now the crowds are gone?
Well, we don’t have penguins (laughing) but I think that the fish are enjoying this period because there is no one taking pictures of them with a flash, there are no kids tapping on the glass panels, there is no noise… nothing. I think they are appreciating the peace and quiet to be honest. We also have more time to check the aquariums at different times during the day, so I would say that we are able to pay more attention to them than normal.
Apart from the entertainment, what role do aquariums play?
We have a team who works closely with schools and kids on educating about the fish in the aquarium but also the oceans on a larger scale. Our mission is to educate people, not simply to show them the fish. I always say that our job is to make the aquarium as nice as possible so that people can be amazed, and then we can start to explain that, yes it is beautiful, but it is also in danger and if we don’t do anything to change our habits, then it might not stay this beautiful forever.
Photos: Monaco Life, all rights reserved. Top photo: Cory Trépanier
Prince Albert has made his first public visit since contracting Covid-19, visiting workers in two key support centres in Monaco.
On Thursday 16th April, the Prince went to the Rainier III Auditorium which houses both the Covid-19 Call Centre and the Home Patient Monitoring Centre, two structures established by the government.
It was the first public outing by the Prince who, on 31st March, was given the all-clear by doctors after testing positive for the virus on 16th March. Three days later the Palace revealed that the Head of State would remain in confinement in his private apartment while his family – Princess Charlene and twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella – were in their country home behind Monaco.
Accompanied by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Didier Gamerdinger, Prince Albert first had his temperature tested before visiting the Covid-19 Call Centre, which was established at the start of the epidemic to answer questions from the people of Monaco with regards to the health crisis and the government’s response. The unit is comprised of staff from the Department of Health, volunteers from the Monaco Red Cross, and a supervising doctor.
The call centre received upto 200 calls a day during its peak, eventually dropping to around 80. A growing number of calls related to mental health prompted the government to boost psychological support through the network.
The Prince on Thursday also visited the Home Patient Monitoring Centre, which is currently responsible for the care of 101 people suffering only minor symptoms of Covid-19. This unit is also manned by staff from the Health Department, social workers, Monaco Red Cross volunteers, psychologists and other medical staff from the Princess Grace Hospital Centre.
The Covid-19 Call Centre can be reached by calling 92 05 55 00 and is open seven days a week from 9am to 6pm. It is also contactable by e-mail: covid19@gouv.mc.
AS Monaco has created a fundraising drive to assist those working on the front lines of the Covid-19 health crisis in the Principality.
The Red and Whites have mobilised to participate in the fight against the coronavirus through their charity program, AS Monacoeur, by providing financial support to the Monegasque Red Cross. They are asking for online donations from the whole AS Monaco community and have started by pledging €50,000 themselves on behalf of the club.
All funds collected will go toward Covid-related projects being championed by the Red Cross. Amongst them are support for volunteers and employees who are manning the call centre, supplying masks, medicine and food for the community’s most vulnerable, as well as offering assistance to their international counterparts struggling in other parts of the world.
“In this period of general mobilisation against Covid-19, it is important to show solidarity and for AS Monaco to be able to make itself useful through these initiatives,” says Vice President and General Manager Oleg Petrov. “Many people are on the front line every day in dealing with the crisis, including hospital staff and Red Cross volunteers, and I wish, on behalf of the whole club, to pay them all the tribute they deserve.”
Additionally, AS Monaco has made the club’s training centre in La Turbie and the academy accommodation centre available for blood donations to be directed to the Princess Grace Hospital.
“The establishments are still in desperate need as ever and it seems natural to us to pass on this message to help as much as we can in this health crisis,” explains AS Monaco’s Chief Medical Officer, Lluis Til-PĂ©rez. “During the confinement period, it is possible to travel to give blood, particularly in the specialised centre at the CHPG, where everything has been set up for this purpose.”
Launched in 2017, AS Monacoeur programmes include a broad range of initiatives that focus on education, charitable pursuits and the social sector.
To donate to the Monegasque Red Cross, visit www.gofundme.com/f/asmonaco. For blood donations to the Blood Transfusion Center of the Princess Grace Hospital Center, find all the information here at https://www.chpg.mc/don-du-sang/. If you prefer to give blood in France, go to an EFS collection site. The information can be found at https://dondesang.efs.sante.fr/
The shout out is obviously meant for doctors, nurses and first responders, but also to those keeping the business of life humming along, such as supermarket employees and sanitation and municipal workers, despite the standstill the rest of us are experiencing. Â
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