After two weeks screening residents for Covid-19 antibodies, Tuesday was an opportunity for Monaco’s youngest – those aged five and under – to take advantage of the government’s mass testing campaign.
Parents were invited to bring their children to the Grimaldi Forum on Tuesday afternoon for the free serological test – a painless prick of the finger that produces results in a matter of minutes.
The youngest members of Monaco’s population were not included in the first round of testing, but rather given a specific day for tests that were conducted under the supervision of a pediatrician.
This week marks phase two of the government’s screening campaign, which focuses on the 50,000 employees who work in the Principality. Residents who have not yet been tested are still invited to take advantage of the test at the Grimaldi Forum.
It was revealed on Monday that 43% of residents in Monaco had been tested for Covid-19 antibodies during the first two weeks of the campaign, and of those only 2.7% returned positive results.
Screening of residents and employees will continue at the Grimaldi Forum until 16th June.
When Covid-19 stepped in, luxury wedding planner Muriel Saldalamacchia stepped up, developing protocols to help the government lift a ban on weddings in France and eventually restore an industry worth €10 billion.
Muriel Saldalamacchia has been an international wedding planner for more than 10 years, organising destination weddings for HNWIs across the globe.
After creating a business in New York, she re-established herself in the south of France and has since become a respected reference for the wedding industry, regularly speaking at conferences including the Destination Wedding Planners congress. She also recently published a book, ‘La méthode anti-ghosting’ (The anti-ghosting method), for wedding vendors. Monaco Life spoke to Muriel about how the crisis has impacted the luxury wedding industry, and her active role in developing protocol for the government to sanction weddings once again in France. Photo by Nora M Photography, wedding by Muriel Saldalamacchia Before the Covid-19 crisis hit, how many weddings were on your books for 2020?
We had 14 weddings planned for this year. The virus started globally in January, and the most important part of the year for booking weddings is between January and April, so I would say I lost up to six weddings this year because of the crisis. All of our weddings until the end of July are postponed to 2021, and while we still have weddings planned for August, September and October, we are waiting to hear direction from the French government with regards to whether we are able to go ahead. Have you been given any indication from the government about what lies ahead?
I think we should be able to have weddings with up to 100 guests by the middle of July. But we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes with the government to make the industry as safe as possible so we are allowed to resume. This is the only way we can convince the government to make a call about whether or not weddings can go ahead.
In April, I gathered a group of professionals and we created a website called www.label-mariage.fr where clients and vendors could get answers to their questions about the crisis: where they stand with returning deposits, how to get business loans etc. It provides a good balance of information, nothing emotional, just facts. Because vendors, firstly, must consider that they have a company to manage; they can’t promise couples anything for 2021 if their company goes bankrupt.
After gathering all of this information, we decided to write to French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. The PM replied saying that he has heard us, but things can only go ahead according to protocol. So, this is what we are doing now – we are asking doctors and lawyers to assess everything we are doing to make sure it is in line with the strict health protocols. Wedding by Muriel Saldalamacchia, with private events band Four Kicks performing. Photo credit: Dan Petrovic So rather than waiting to be directed by the government, you have jumped into action to help the government make a decision on weddings?
Exactly, we didn’t want to be the forgotten ones. It is not “just” a wedding, this is an entire industry that is worth more than €5 billion in France. That’s not counting the companies that are not registered here, so it is realistically double that – it is a €10 billion industry that needs to be listened to by the government. So no, we didn’t want to just sit back and wait. That’s why we got together, based our information on facts, and said: “We are here, we are a significant industry that matters to the French economy and involves thousands of jobs, you have to listen to us.” The main advice for couples right now is postpone, don’t cancel. But does this pose a new set of problems because there are only so many weekends in the year?
Yes. For example, I have a client from China who is looking to have their wedding between June and October on the Amalfi Coast in Italy next year with up to 120 guests. But everything is already booked because the postponed weddings from 2020 have carried over to 2021.
Therefore, we are losing money from 2020, but also from 2021 because there are only 52 weekends in the year. We give clients the option of getting married on a weekday, but this doesn’t always fit in with flights and holidays, etc.
For everyone in the wedding industry, 2020 was going to be an exceptional year, and based on that 2021 was very promising also. But now 2021 will be full of the 2020 weddings, so it will realistically take two years to recover, which is a bad situation for most of the entrepreneurs in the wedding industry to be in. Photo by Gabriele Basilico, wedding by Muriel Saldalamacchia What is the main concern among couples who are looking to get married?
The main concern for couples is whether the borders will be open and whether they will be able to fly.
They are not so worried about masks and social distancing, but with regards to hygiene standards I recommend, for example, to have six people sit around a large table designed for 10 people. For food, I suggest they don’t have a buffet or a food station, but if they must then they should have someone serving individual portions.
I also I put forward to the government that guests could be pre-screened for Covid-19 before travelling. The same concept applies when you have to travel to Africa and must be vaccinated for diseases, for example, so why not apply that for weddings? Do you have any advice for vendors and couples?
We are all in this together and this crisis shall pass. I would just like to remind everyone that we are all humans first, then a company or a client second. There is no unique solution, it is all personalised discussion. We have to work together now more than ever. When are you likely to know more about the future of weddings in France?
We are expecting a decision from the government on 22nd June, as France will be entering its third phase of deconfinement. Based on that information, we will hopefully be able to move forward.
Italy, the first European country hit hard by the Covid pandemic, has cautiously reopened borders for the first time since mid-March amid an encouraging slowing of infection rates and death tolls.
After several long months in lockdown, Italy is finally returning to life. Confinement measures are being lifted, people are returning to work, and cafés and restaurants are welcoming guests. Now they are allowing more freedom of movement within the country and a bit internationally as well.
As of Wednesday 3rd June, the regions of Italy will no longer be blocked and they will be allowed to invite tourists to come just in time for the summer holidays.
A planned two-week quarantine measure has been scrapped for people entering from the EU, Schengen, the UK, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and Vatican City, unless visitors from these places have been outside this safety zone within the previous two weeks.
The daily drop in new cases and deaths has encouraged the Italians to take this step, though admittedly they know that there is still risk involved.
“To have no risk at all, we would have had to maintain a total lockdown for months, but the country would have not been able to stand it,” Italy’s Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Sunday.
In order to mitigate risks, some regional governors are offering visitors tests as part of holiday packages, as well as asking them to fill out health questionnaires which would be kept on file for two weeks.
“Tourism in Italy will start again, with all precautions and in maximum safety. Those who love Italy must be allowed to return to enjoy it, in compliance with governmental and regional guidelines,” President of the Italian National Tourist Board (ENIT) Giorgio Palmucci pointed out in a statement to the EU last month.
After weeks of debate and uncertainty about timings and legalities, the French application StopCovid was launched Tuesday for both Android and iOS devices.
The French app, which is separate from the contact-tracing app jointly put out by Apple and Google, was designed by a group of researchers and private companies specifically for France, and in record time. Most apps of this kind take up to two years to launch.
Like most other contact-tracing apps, StopCovid uses bluetooth to create a full listing of other app users who a person has been in contact with for more than just a passing moment. It does this by assigning all users a permanent ID and sending a list of ephemeral IDs derived from the permanent ID to the user’s phone.
This is where the StopCovid app differs from others. If a person using the app is diagnosed with coronavirus, a doctor, hospital or testing centre will give them a QR code or string of letters and numbers. This allows the user to enter the code in order to alert the people the infected person has interacted with over the past two weeks.
The server gathers all the ephemeral IDs of those who had been in recent contact with the infected person and assesses them with a risk score. Anyone above a certain threshold is sent a notification recommending testing.
CNIL, France’s data-protection watchdog, has approved the app in terms of compliance with privacy regulations, and it was passed by parliament last week, though not without a few hiccoughs.
It was announced that people who choose to use or not use the app with be neither penalised nor rewarded, though wide usage would be the most effective way to track the disease.
Fans of Formula 1 racing have gotten a boost with the announcement that racing will begin again in early July, with one drawback. For now, there will be no spectators allowed at the tracks.
After the coronavirus ran roughshod over plans and events worldwide, no one was quite sure when, or if, there would be a resumption of fun for 2020.
Happily, Formula 1 racing has decided to give the all-clear and start their season, albeit midstream and with some glaring holes. The Monaco Grand Prix, for example, will not be part of the truncated schedule, mostly due to it being a city race and needing a tremendous amount of planning to make it happen.
In other, less complicated settings, though, the summer season will be somewhat salvaged starting on 3rdJuly when Austria will host back-to-back Grand Prix weekends. This will be quickly followed up the next weekend with a race in Hungary and two weeks later with another two-fer at Silverstone in the UK. The Belgian Grand Prix will be held next and the summer ends in Monza, for the Italian Grand Prix.
None of these races will be held with an audience in attendance, but there is hope.
Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1, made clear that, “While we currently expect the season to commence without fans at our races we hope that over the coming months the situation will allow us to welcome them back once it is safe to do so, but we know the return of Formula 1 will be a welcome boost to sports fans around the world.”
Austria was chosen as the opener for its proximity to a good local airport next to the circuit in a reasonably isolated setting. The Austrians have had less than 700 deaths from the epidemic and no doubt would like to keep it that way.
After that, the plan is still a bit up in the air, though F1 organisers are hoping to have a total of 15 to 18 races completed by the end of the racing season in December. After the summer in Europe, the hope is to go to Asia and the Americas in autumn and finally the Gulf region in December.
Health and safety practices will be in full force, and both Formula 1 and the FIA have detailed plans to ensure races take place with the highest safety standards, including regular check-ups for pilots and pit crews.
Formula 2 and 3 races will also be taking place at these venues, so fans can watch the stars of tomorrow as well.
A new site called Travel-Map has been launched showing real-time summaries of which borders are open and which are still closed during deconfinement, making it easier for travellers to plan summer trips.
De-escalation of the lockdown may mean more freedom of movement, but things are far from clear on where that freedom can take you. People around Europe are gradually trying to piece their lives back together and find a semblance of normalcy. As such, many are looking to the summer as a time to get away from home and enjoy a much-deserved holiday.
The problem is, no one is entirely sure where they are allowed to go or when. The European Commission has recommended a gradual reopening of borders within the EU by mid-month, though countries with high instances of coronavirus will certainly be unwilling or unable to comply. Conversely, countries who have managed their cases will not be terribly keen to welcome guests from places with large numbers of actively ill people. But how to find out which are open, and which will remain closed?
Travel-Map, a site launched on 1st June by Elea Gravagna and Maxime Couraud in partnership with the agency CosaVostra, hopes to take the guess work out of the planning. The site is offering visitors a way to view in real-time the state of borders and entry requirements in every country in the world.
All the data comes directly from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and is integrated onto a world map free of charge to users.
“It’s very simple, you fly over a country to know its status and you click on it to have all the details. On each country file, you can enter your email address to be kept informed of updates,” explained the two co-creators in a press release.
To visit the site and get up to the minute info, go to travel-map.org
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