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Month: April 2020

Leclerc wins virtual GP

by: Stephanie Horsman
06/04/2020

Monaco’s Charles Leclerc has been crowned the winner of his first esports match after successfully bringing home first place in a virtual Australian Grand Prix. 
Two weeks after the first virtual Grand Prix set in Bahrain, Charles Leclerc, along with six other current Formula One drivers and several high-end gamers, hit the track in Melbourne’s Albert Park using Codemasters’ F1-2019 game.
There was a 28-lap race, preceded by a qualifying session, that saw today’s Formula One racing stars Alex Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris, Nicholas Latifi, Antonio Giovinazzi, and of course, Leclerc, participating in the exciting event. A total of 18 drivers took to the track from remote locations around the globe.
Leclerc’s younger brother Arthur joined in as well and found himself up against 2009 world champion Jensen Button, sim racer Jimmy Broadbent, and English Cricket World Cup winner Ben Stokes.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the chequered flag after also taking pole position, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Renault’s Christian Lundgaard. George Russell, racing for Williams, took the number three spot and Arthur Leclerc came in a hugely respectable fourth. Jensen Button managed 11th and Ben Stokes was the last to cross the line.
“Eight days ago [I bought the game], but I put quite a lot of hours into it. At least five hours each day,” said Leclerc, who took out the win from his home in Monaco.  “I was very silent, so my girlfriend is very happy,” he told the BBC.


The next race will be the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix, which takes place in two weeks’ time.
 
 

Monaco misses you

by: Cassandra Tanti
06/04/2020

“Take care of yourself, we miss you!” is the new message coming out of Monaco, as the tourism department launches a global campaign to lure visitors back to the Principality post-lockdown.
With more than three billion people confined to their homes, airlines grounded and many airports closed, tourism activity around the world has come to a halt. Like many cities, the Principality of Monaco is feeling an enormous impact.
With the tourism industry on a break, Monaco’s Department of Tourism and Congresses has launched a new campaign to connect with travellers – those who regularly visit Monaco and others who see themselves visiting after the crisis.
Adapting its ‘Monaco is For You’ campaign, which aims to position the Principality as a destination that is constantly reinventing itself, the new ‘Monaco Misses You’ initiative focusses on people and families, personal experiences and memories – images that have become precious during this time of confinement, and “moments that we hope will become our and your daily life again,” say organisers of the campaign.
All sectors are being targeted – leisure and business tourism, industry professionals as well as individuals.
The campaign will be relayed by the 10 Monegasque tourism promotion offices operating in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, and will be deployed on social networks, digital media and travel magazines.
 
 
 

Ocean protection continues during crisis

by: Cassandra Tanti
06/04/2020

The MedFund, headed by Monaco’s Bernard Fautrier, is allocating €1.8 million to marine protected areas for the next five years. It comes amid a new scientific study which suggests that the world’s oceans could be returned to their former glory in the space of a generation. 
The MedFund Board of Directors was due to meet in the Principality during Monaco Ocean Week, scheduled for 22nd to 28th March, but the event was cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
MedFund President Bernard Fautrier and the administrators wanted to continue with their important 12th Board of Directors meeting, so it went ahead as planned on Tuesday 24th March – by videoconference.
Among the initiatives, the board approved €1.8 million worth of funding for marine protected areas in the Kuriat, Galite, Kneiss, Zembra and Zembretta islands in Tunisia, and the Karaburun Sazan marine protected area in Albania.
The money will be granted over the space of five years to the local organisations and national agencies in charge of these protected areas, contributing to their activities that preserve marine ecosystems and the populations who depend on it.
The MedFund receives financial support from the Government of Monaco, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD).
The announcement comes amid a major new review which has reported significant recovery of marine life. Scientists say there is now enough knowledge to create an ocean renaissance for wildlife by 2050, but a redoubling of efforts is still needed.
The review, published in the journal Nature, found that global fishing is slowly becoming more sustainable and the destruction of habitats such as seagrass meadows and mangroves is almost at a halt.
Humpback whales have returned to the eastern shores of Australia in numbers of more than 40,000, compared to just a few hundred animals in 1968 before whaling was banned. Sea otters in western Canada have risen from just dozens in 1980 to thousands now.
“We have a narrow window of opportunity to deliver a healthy ocean to our grandchildren, and we have the knowledge and tools to do so,” said Prof Carlos Duarte, of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, who led the review. “Failing to embrace this challenge, and in doing so condemning our grandchildren to a broken ocean unable to support good livelihoods, is not an option.”
In order to achieve this recovery, the escalating climate crisis must be tackled to protect the oceans from acidification, loss of oxygen and the devastation of coral reefs.
Aside from will, the undertaking would also require large sums of money — the study puts the cost at about $10 billion to $20 billion a year, and estimates a $10 return later for every dollar spent now.
Photo: Kuriat © Auriane Petit

Italy death toll drops to lowest in weeks

by: Stephanie Horsman
06/04/2020

Monaco’s neighbour Italy is finally getting a bit of good news on the coronavirus front as both the number of new cases and the death tolls begin to take a downward slide.
In the nightmare that has been their reality since the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus in the country back in February, the Italians are finally seeing some encouraging statistics and results.
The civil protection service reported only 525 official Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, the lowest since 19thMarch. The number of new cases sat at 4,316 as the slow decline appears to show more than a blip, but actual progress.
The number of those hospitalised or in intensive care in the disease-ravaged nation is also seeing a decline for the first time since the epidemic took hold. The modest decrease, from 29,010 to 28,949 overall patients and 3,994 to 3,977 ICU patients may not appear to be much improvement, but for over-worked hospital workers, this serves as a glimmer of hope.
The downward trend in Italy is being mirrored in other hard hit countries such as Spain and France, who are both seeing declines in both new cases and deaths.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte put the country on lockdown on 10th March and placed further limits of movement as things continued to deteriorate.
“Our response has not been perfect, maybe, but we have been acting to the best of our knowledge,” Conte said to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “Today, I see that our model is implemented by other countries and its validity has been acknowledged by the [World Health Organisation], and the results so far indicate that we are on the right path.”
Despite the progress, officials don’t have plans to ease lockdown or social distancing rules anytime soon. As the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be appearing in the distance, the strict measures that are in place in Monaco, Italy, France and across much of Europe will probably not change for some time. Medical experts agree the most sensible way to stop the rapid spread of the virus is social distancing. With less new cases, the health care systems of countries feeling the strain will be lessened, ensuring local health care facilities aren’t overrun with infected patients.
This small sacrifice is helping slowly but surely to flatten the curve that spiralled upward for the past few weeks.
Monaco’s number has stayed fairly small with 73 confirmed cases and two deaths. Of the confirmed cases, two were high-profile – both HSH Prince Albert II and Minister of State Serge Telle were infected, though both have been given the all-clear now by their doctors.
 
 

2nd Covid-19 death recorded in Monaco

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/04/2020

A second person has died from Covid-19 in Monaco. Meanwhile, the Principality’s Minister of State has fully recovered from the virus.
The death was revealed on Saturday 4th April. “The Prince’s Government wishes to show the family of this person their full support during these trying times,” the government said in a statement. “This is a moment of great sadness which demonstrates the importance of remaining fully mobilised while respecting the health precaution rules laid down by the Prince’s Government.”
The government also confirmed seven new positive cases of Covid-19 in the Principality on Sunday, bringing the number of people affected by the coronavirus to 73. This includes three patients who are now cured – the last of which is the Minister of State, Serge Telle, who was diagnosed on 16th March. According to health authorities, 15 people remain hospitalised, and four of these are in intensive care.
Only patients with severe symptoms of Covid-19 are hospitalised in Monaco, while people with few symptoms are advised to confine themselves at home while being followed medically. To date, 106 patients are being monitored by the appropriate health units.
 
 

Feeding the elderly and vulnerable

by: Cassandra Tanti
04/04/2020

Monaco’s ‘meals on wheels’ programme for seniors and the frail is a perfect example of how the community is coming together to help those most in need.
The Monaco National Council extended its meal distribution service at the start of the coronavirus crisis, mobilising students and teachers at Lycée Technique et Hôtelier de Monaco (LTHM) with the support of Isabelle Bonnal, Director of National Education, Youth and Sports, and under the leadership of headmaster Jean-Marc Deoriti-Castellini.
The team at LTHM have joined forces with those at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG), which already provides meals to beneficiaries of Home Help throughout the year – on average 150 each day.
To ensure the smooth running of the service, staff of the Service des Seniors and de l’Action Sociale manage the reservations and the dispatching of meals on a daily basis. The Service du Domaine Communal – Commerce, Halles et Marchés, with the assistance of the chef of the Municipal Restaurant Julien Baldacchino, is in charge of creating the menus in collaboration with the chefs at the LTHM.
While all schools in the Principality are closed, the LTHM opens its kitchens from Monday to Friday for the production of balanced and varied meals, the number of which is constantly increasing.

Photo: Mairie de Monaco

Every day, 150 lunches and 75 dinners are prepared in the kitchens of the LTHM before being delivered to members of the community aged over 70 and the frail, by staff from the Service des Seniors and de l’Action Sociale de la Mairie de Monaco and volunteers from the Monaco Red Cross.
The meal trays include starter, main course, cheese, dessert and bread and are priced at €9 for lunch and €15 for lunch and dinner.
Meals provided to low-income recipients are paid for by the council.
For more information, contact 93 15 22 99 from Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 6pm.
 
Top photo: Mairie de Monaco