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Month: February 2021

Have you got your tickets?

by: Cassandra Tanti
02/02/2021

Borneo Wildlife Preservation (BWP) is holding a luncheon to raise awareness and funds for the protection of the endangered Borneo Pygmy Elephant on 11th February at the Fairmont Hotel.
It is fair to say that there is still plenty of space in everyone’s social calendars at the moment. So, why not join in a fun lunch for a good cause this February?
The charity lunch will be hosted by animal trainer and behaviourist, and Monaco Life contributor, Katerina Pirelli. It is being held in the private Salon Mistrau of the Fairmont Monte Carlo in partnership with Club Vivanova.
Bornean elephants are the smallest Asian elephant subspecies and are distinctly littler than their mainland cousins, standing at a full three feet smaller. Located in Indonesia and Malaysia, the Borneo Pygmy Elephant is also far ‘gentler’ than the Asian or African elephants, and has oversized ears, plump bellies, and long tails.
Sadly, there are now fewer than 1,500 left in the wild. The WWF cites the main reasons for the Pygmy Elephant’s population decline as habitat loss, habitat degradation and fragmentation, and rising human-elephant conflict. Tragically, in 2017, it was found that even these tiny remote elephants are also subject to poaching for their ivory tusks.
Thursday’s charity lunch will include presentations from BWP President and Founder Katerina Pirelli, as well as Christian Moore, film producer and founder of Global Environment Media.
Lunch will be followed by a charitable tombola with many prizes including a luxury half-day private yacht cruise, dinner for two at Rampoldi Monte Carlo, and private beach brunch for two at the Meridien Beach Plaza.
Due to the current restrictions, attendees must be Monaco residents, nationals, employees, hotel guests or have a professional attestation to show they are attending for legitimate business purposes (to be approved by Club Vivanova). Special Fairmont room rates are available on request.
Monaco Life is proud to be a sponsor of this important event.
To book tickets, visit: https://www.clubvivanova.com/events/11feb2021
 
Related stories:

Interview: Bob Lee, elephant manager

 
Photo by Bernard Dupont, Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia
 
 

France’s ski lifts to stay closed

by: Stephanie Horsman
02/02/2021

In another blow to the French ski industry, it was announced on Monday that France’s ski lifts will remain closed in February, annulling all chances of recuperating some of their losses during the half-term break.
The 2020-2021 French ski season is officially a wash-out. The government announced to the industry on 1stFebruary that ski lifts were not to be reopened as thought on the 15th of this month, disappointing skiers and ski industry workers alike.
The Reuters news agency, quoting government sources, said “France’s ski lifts will very likely stay closed until the end of the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Prime Minister Jean Castex told resort operators that financial compensation would be made available to them, though how much was not specified.
The reasons behind extending the closures include fears over the new Covid variant and the fast-spreading nature of it. Ski resorts are thought to be where Europe’s first super-spreaders came from last season, and a repeat of this would be unwelcome, especially as hospitals are already grappling with higher admission rates.
“There is no question of prioritising economic issues over health issues,” said Prime Minister Castex on French television in late January.
“When the president announced the closure of winter sports stations, he had conditioned their reopening on a decrease in the spread of the virus, with less than 5,000 infections per day. However, we are not there at all,” he added.
The resorts are not entirely closed. They are still welcoming people who would like to enjoy the walks and mountain air, as well as those intrepid souls who are happy to hike up the slopes on their own steam to ski down. But no amenities are open.
The €12 billion industry has been devastated by the closures and is estimating losses this year in the vicinity of €5.8 billion with the advent of the latest restrictions.
 
Photo by Ruth Troughton on Unsplash
 
 
 

Covid: Majority of fatalities occurred in one month

by: Cassandra Tanti
01/02/2021

Monaco’s Covid death rate has skyrocketed since the beginning of 2021, with 10 out of all 14 fatalities occurring in January alone, and the latest on 1st February.
It is an unfortunate and growing theme in the government’s daily coronavirus count – the death of another Monaco resident who tested positive for Covid-19. The worrying trend peaked at the end of January with four deaths within just five days and has continued into February, with another consecutive fatality, this time a 65-year-old. It brings Monaco’s total to 14 and its fatality rate to 0.9%.
On 29th January, a 62-year-old man became the youngest Covid victim to date in Monaco. He has been identified as Jean-Marc Giraldi, president of the Monaco Nautical Society and good friend of Prince Albert II. The death has rocked the tight-knit sporting community of Monaco.
Three deaths last year
For the entire year of 2020, Monaco managed to scrape through with just three deaths. However, older residents now appear to be paying the price for a loosening of attitudes over Christmas and New Year, holiday travel to high-risk zones, and widespread contamination within the home, which the government has warned is the main source of contagion.
The Princess Grace Hospital Centre (CHPG) is “busy but not saturated”, its director Benoîte de Sevelinges has told Monaco Matin. Still, it opened in Monday a new unit for 10 additional beds to add “flexibility in care and avoid a possible overload”. It will bring the hospital’s general care capacity for Covid-positive patients to 40, yet it is treating 53 people for coronavirus symptoms.
Meanwhile, there are currently 10 critical cases being treated in the hospital’s ICU, representing 0.7% of total cases. The CHPG can accommodate 19 Covid patients in intensive care.
Monaco’s response
Given the recent spate of deaths in the Principality, the recovery rate is now 85.6% as authorities push ahead with a large scale vaccination campaign which Stéphane Valeri, president of the National Council, hopes will lead to the protection of at least 80,000 residents, students and workers.
Monaco’s vaccination centre was moved to the Grimaldi Forum in late January to boost capabilities to 600 per day, as Prince Albert II of Monaco extended current restrictions – including the 7pm curfew – until at least 15th February to stem the rise in cases.
 
Note: This story was updated late Monday evening to include figures for 1st February
 
 

Does this mean we can do lunch in Italy?

by: Cassandra Tanti
01/02/2021

Italy has just reopened restaurants and museums in many regions including Liguria, despite warnings from public health experts that it is too early. So, what does it mean for day trippers from Monaco?
Based on the latest data by the Health Ministry and Higher Institute, coronavirus risk levels were downgraded on Sunday in most parts of the country.
All but five of Italy’s regions are now considered yellow under a colour-coded system of yellow, orange and red that indicates coronavirus risk and the restrictions in place.
As of Sunday, only the regions of Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Umbria and the autonomous province of Bolzano are in the orange zone.
All the other regions, including the neighbouring territory of Liguria, are in the yellow zone.
It means that customers can consume food and drink in bars and restaurants from 5am to 6pm. After that, only take-away and home delivery are allowed.
Movement within a yellow region is also allowed until 10pm, however “non-essential” movement between regions is still banned.
Theatres and cinemas remain closed.
There are currently no regions in Italy’s highest-risk red zones.

Map of Italy’s coloured zones from 1st February

EU warns it is “too early”
In contrast, other countries in Europe are looking at hardening restrictions, including France which has cut short of introducing a third lockdown but has tightened border restrictions and closed large shopping centres.
The World Health Organisation’s European branch warned on Thursday that it was “too early to ease up” due to a “very high” presence of the virus.
“Yes, Italy is bucking the trend,” said Walter Ricciardi, a public health expert who advises Italy’s health minister on the pandemic.
He told AFP lockdown measures adopted in Italy over Christmas and New Year had helped stabilise virus numbers, without lowering them.
Nevertheless, “right now it is extremely difficult to propose stricter measures due to resistance from both politicians and public opinion,” Ricciardi said.
According to the latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Italy currently has an incidence rate of 315 per 100,000 inhabitants over a 14-day-period.
But according to a report from Italian intelligence agencies, a change in the way test results were reported, along with regional inconsistencies in reporting methodology, means that infection rates could have been underestimated by as much as 50% since mid-November.
Meanwhile, France and Monaco’s incidence rates are sitting at around 400.
Can I travel to Italy?
People wishing to travel from Monaco to Italy must fill out a self-declaration and prove that they have undergone a PCR or antigen test with a negative result within 48 hours of arrival in Italy. Travellers are also under obligation to notify local health authorities of their arrival.
You can find the travel document in English here.
Although it is easy for Monaco residents to cross the border by car and bypass controls, authorities are still undertaking checks and failure to present a travel document and negative test to authorities can result in a penalty, with fines ranging from €400 to €3,000 euros which can increase for multiple offences.
Do you still have questions about travelling to Italy? Take this questionnaire in English on the Italian health ministry website: https://infocovid.viaggiaresicuri.it/index_en.html
 
Related stories:
France closes borders to non-EU countries
 
Photo by Kate Townsend on Unsplash
 
 

What impact has Covid had on Monaco’s property market?

by: Stephanie Horsman
01/02/2021

Real estate sales and prices were down in 2020, not a huge surprise in a year that saw nearly every sector of the economy hit by Covid. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, with Monaco’s property market still amongst the strongest around.

The property market is driven by deliveries and product and, according to the latest report by IMSEE, 2020 saw the delivery of only 26 new apartments in the Principality.

Echoing trends in 2019, “off-plan” sales represented the majority of transactions representing 75%, but the number of sales remained much lower than that observed over the previous five years.

The real estate resale market also trended down compared to the two previous years. In all, the cumulative transactions last year of both new properties and resale ones was down by 22.3%, levels roughly the same as in 2017.

In hard numbers, this means there were 395 resales in 2020 valued at €1.954 million and only 16 new apartments sold equalling €218 million in sales.

The decrease in the number of transactions is more evident in small apartments. In 2019, studios and one-bedroom properties accounted for two-thirds of all transactions in volume. In 2020, that number dropped to one-third.

Meanwhile, less studios and two rooms were sold last year, but an increase in three-room sales put the overall figure at -32%, a smaller drop than the number of sales in 2020 which were down by 52%.

The average price per square metre also decreased, but only slightly at -1.1%, bringing the average to €47,619 euros. However, this average price has increased by 52.3% in the past 10 years.

The Larvotto area’s average price per square metre is again slightly higher than in other districts. La Condamine saw a -9.3% drop in prices, putting it at under €50,000 per square metre, whilst Monte-Carlo and Fontvieille remain above that water mark. But the biggest jump is Moneghetti, which has seen a massive 115% rise in prices over the past 10 years.

 
Photo by Cassandra Tanti for Monaco Life
 
 

AS Monaco makes it five for five

by: Stephanie Horsman
01/02/2021

The Red and Whites took home their fifth straight win on Sunday, narrowly defeating Nantes at the Stade Beaujoire. It keeps them in a solid fourth place in Ligue 1 standings and only three points off the top three.
AS Monaco’s lineup against Nantes looked incredibly similar to the one against Marseille, except for the substitution of Krépin Diatta standing in for the suspended Ruben Aguilar.
Nantes was already on the back foot before the match even started, suffering the longest losing streak in the history of the club. An unprecedented 12 losses trailed behind them, and this had to be on their minds as they faced off against Monaco.
The opening goal didn’t happen until the very end of the first half, when Chilean Guillermo Maripán put one between the posts, sending the teams into halftime with Monaco up 1-0.
After returning to the pitch, the hour mark saw Monaco score another goal, this time by Kevin Volland putting the Red and Whites solidly in the lead.
Things got a little dicey after this. At 73 minutes in, Nantes’ team captain Nicolas Pallois received his second yellow card on the night, ejecting him from the game. They were now at a one man disadvantage, and should have been easier pickings for Monaco. But in the 84th minute, Nantes’ Renaud Emond made a brilliant header through the posts putting them only one point down with six minutes on the clock.
Those last minutes were nerve-wracking but Monaco held on to their lead, finishing the match with a 2-1 win.
“The first 75 minutes were very good, before the red card,” said Coach Niko Kovac after the game. “We had possession of the ball, we played our style of football. We were very skilled with the ball, we created a lot of chances. I’m not happy with the last 15 minutes, as we were a little nervous.”
The next game for AS Monaco will be this Wednesday at Stade Louis II in the reverse fixture of the Côte dAzur derby against OGC Nice at 9pm.
 
(Monaco Life with ASM press release, photo by AS Monaco)