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Day: 12 July 2021

Free vaccines extended to workers aged 50+

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/07/2021

Cross border workers aged 50 and over are now able to access free Covid-19 vaccinations in Monaco. It comes as the Principality sees its incidence rate double within the week.
The government announced the extension of its vaccination programme late Monday, saying the move is “part of the vaccine strategy of the Principality, which has the objective of offering, in the long term, vaccination coverage for the entire population – residents and workers.”
People wishing to receive the jab are invited to contact the Call Centre on 92.05.55.00, or visit the website https://vaccination-covid19.gouv.mc.
Proof of professional activity in Monaco is necessary.
Vaccinations are available free of charge for all residents of the Principality aged 12 and over, and the government is strongly encouraging all older citizens to get the inoculation.
“People 65 years of age and over who have not yet been vaccinated are invited to do so as soon as possible because only vaccination provides effective protection for older people who are more vulnerable to the virus,” said the government in its statement. “For those younger, the vaccine is the most effective solution for themselves and for the protection of others.”
Currently, 60% of the eligible population – those aged 12 and over – are vaccinated in Monaco.
Circulation is on the rise
Figures released by the government on Monday show that the incidence rate in the Principality has more than doubled within the week, jumping to 91 compared to 42 the previous week.
Health authorities believe this is largely due to the Delta variant, which is becoming the dominant strain throughout most of Europe and is more contagious.
Hospitalisations have increased slightly amidst the rise in circulation, with four people now being treated at the CHPG, including one resident. One of these patients is in intensive care. Meanwhile, 32 people are being followed by the Home Monitoring Centre.
 
 
 
Photo source: Unsplash
 
 
 

France gets tough on unvaccinated citizens

by: Staff Writer
12/07/2021

Covid-19 jabs will be mandatory for France’s health workers and anyone wanting to get into a cinema or board a train will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test under new rules announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.
Unveiling sweeping measures to combat a surge in infections, Macron said vaccinations would not be compulsory for the general public but encouraged everyone to get a jab.
“We must go towards vaccination of all French people, it is the only way towards a normal life,” Macron said in a televised address to the nation.
“A new race against the clock is on,” he said, referring to the highly contagious Delta variant.
France has an entrenched anti-vaccination movement but authorities had so far believed they could curb the spread of the coronavirus by convincing enough people, including medical staff, to get inoculated voluntarily.
But a slowdown in vaccination rates and a sharp upturn in new infections due to the now-dominant Delta variant have forced a government rethink for health workers, who must now get vaccinated by 15th September.
Vaccination will also be compulsory for people working in retirement homes.
Macron said that a health pass required to attend large-scale events or to go clubbing will be required much more widely, including for restaurants, cinemas and theatres. It will also be required to board long-distance trains and planes from the start of August, giving a further incentive for people to get the shot.
“We will extend the health pass as much as possible to push as many of you as possible to get vaccinated,” Macron said.
The health pass provides proof that a person has either been vaccinated against the coronavirus or has recently had a negative PCR test for Covid-19.
France has gone from an average of more than 400,000 first injections per day at the end of May to about 165,000 per day now. Some 53.1% of the French have had a single dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 40.6% are fully inoculated – not enough to stop the virus’ spread.
Mandatory vaccination, even for health care workers and other professionals who come into contact with people vulnerable to Covid-19, is not widespread in Europe, and Macron had previously ruled it out for France.
Italy, which has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic and made the shots mandatory for healthcare workers at the end of March, had so far been the exception. But Greece made a similar announcement on Monday, saying health care workers and nursing home staff will have to be vaccinated.
The fast-spreading Delta variant risks undermining economic recoveries if allowed to spiral out of control, forcing some governments to rethink their COVID-19 strategies just as citizens look forward to summer holidays.
The Dutch government reimposed curbs on nightclubs, music festivals and restaurants on Friday while Spain’s Canary Islands have asked the government to bring back curfews.
England, however, is loosening restrictions and will be the first nation in Britain to lift the legal requirement to wear masks and for people to socially distance from 19th July.
After falling from more than 42,000 per day in mid-April to less than 2,000 per day in late June, the average number of new infections per day in France has crept back up again, standing now at nearly 4,000 per day.
If no measures were taken and the same trend continued, France could see up to 20,000 new cases per day by the end of July, epidemiologists say.
France’s National Medicine Academy, a doctors’ society, has recently pressed authorities to go further and make vaccination compulsory for everyone aged 12 and above.
 
Reuters 
 
 
 
 

8th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge draws to a close

by: Staff Writer
12/07/2021

A week brimming with events, exchanges, races, successes and setbacks, triumphs and disappointments at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge reached a peak on the final day with an endurance challenge and speed duels – more than enough to push the 32 teams in all three classes to the limits of their sporting and intellectual resources one more time.
There to see them on 10th July were HSH Prince Albert II with his distinguished guest, the explorer Mike Horn, coming both to support participants and find out more about all the innovations presented during the week, on the sea and ashore in the exhibitors’ village.
The Open Sea Class faced their toughest endurance test yet, as they had to prove, by racking up laps on a circa three nautical mile course, their capacity to go the distance, as far and as long as possible throughout the day. Hynova pulled off the best performance, almost equal on points with the Candela team, the Tenderworks team having been disqualified for breaking the rules despite their excellent result with 20 laps completed, the equivalent of a return trip to Cannes.
For those in the Energy and Solar classes, the morning was spent on a spectacular timed with elimination slalom event. No surprise to see Sunflare Solar Team triumph ahead of the Swiss students from Lausanne’s EPLV on their foiling Swiss Solar Boat, and the Dutch students on HAN Solar Boat. In the Energy Class, the Italians with their Uniboat dominated as they had done all week, to consolidate their position ahead of the Monegasque E-Racing Team and the students from Capgemini Engineering.
The afternoon was dedicated to the ‘Championship Race’, as the eight fastest boats in the qualifying heats on Thursday went head to head in the quarter, semi and finals inside the marina. This comprised spectacular duels on an inner loop-outer loop course that delighted both participants and the crowds gathered to watch on Quai Louis II. In the Solar Class, Sunflare again showed its superiority, beating the Lausanne EPLV Swiss team’s prao with the best of three races. In the Energy Boat Class, the Bologna University students consolidated their success, their hydrogen prototype winning the final ahead of the Monegasque E-Racing Team.
At the end of this final super intense day, all participants were invited to attend the prize-giving where several prizes were up for grabs, both for results at sea in each Class, awarded by Race Director, and for the presentations on land during the daily Tech Talks, as well as those of the exhibitors by an International Jury of experts chaired by Jérémie Lagarrigue, CEO of EODev. In all,there was a total of 10 awards.
 
 
 
Text by the Yacht Club de Monaco
 
 

ArtPeople launch

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

As part of Monaco Art week, Monaco start-up ArtPeople has launched a digital platform for connecting collectors and buyers in a whole new way.

The ArtPeople digital platform is giving art lovers an online alternative to viewing and buying pieces, highlighting the extraordinary growth of this once-niche market of the art sales world.

Founder Jeremy Biermann, architect and art enthusiast, started ArtPeople after designing numerous exhibition stands for galleries at international fairs such as Design Miami/Basel, Masterpiece London, and PAD London, collaborating with his wife Deborah who worked for a prestigious auction house and ran a gallery in Monaco.

Jeremy saw a gap in the art world that was expounded by the restrictions the pandemic imposed on face-to-face meetings and travel, and created ArtPeople to fill in that blank spot.

“In the digital age, our professional experience has allowed us to understand the most important element in this market: trust, in particular between collectors, dealers, specialists and service providers,” says Jeremy Biermann. “Our mission was to make the art world prosper in a new digital reality where Internet users do not limit themselves to consulting information but actively contribute to its creation.”

Member collectors have access to a directory of services in addition to the pieces themselves that include finding framers, insurers, experts and transport companies, whilst art world professionals now have the ability to reach out to collectors and service providers at an unprecedented level to increase visibility and expand their markets.

Based on the LinkedIn model, users of the platform can also share their experiences and opinions, complete with rating systems, and can create and schedule online or real-time events, make appointments, and create their own profile.

 
 
Photo supplied
 
 
 

Monaco Art Week highlights two creative talents

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

Gallerists Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel are hosting a cocktail reception during Monaco Art Week to celebrate the works of Bolivian artist Sonia Falcone and French artist Pierre Bonnefille.
Monaco Art Week is sure to be filled with amazing art works and even more amazing events. One such event is the Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel cocktail party and exhibition being put on in honour of two artists with unique and very different styles.
The first artist showcased is Bolivian-born Sonia Falcone and her work called Royal Love. The creation was made using a plant found in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest that has been transformed into a golden sculpture on a striking black base.
According to Gabriel, “The visually-spectacular piece reminds us that nature’s beauty, creativity and vitality will always match and inspire the creations of man, and that some of the most precious gifts we receive can emerge from the earth itself.”
Falcone, a former Miss Bolivia International winner, is also an avid activist who incorporates her social awareness into her art. Her work has been exhibited in London, New York, Boston, Miami, Washington, Dublin, Moscow, Venice, Phoenix, Monterrey, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Bogota, Cabo San Lucas, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Beijing and now Monaco.
 
Her counterpart in the event is French Artist Pierre Bonnefille, whose use of carbons, mineral powders, lava, marble and other raw materials mixed with metallics and natural pigments in his work give the illusion of unctuous materials with fluid surfaces, changing with every movement of light.
Bonnefille grew up in Saint-Quentin, on France’s wild northwest Bretagne coast. His exhibit is called Cortexand it is inspired by shells and beetles that the artist studied in detail before creating a dozen unique boxes.
The boxes represent beetle shells, encasing precious objects inside with beautiful, fluid colours and textures on the outside.
“I want to keep specific visions in mind, I try to capture them and recreate them in my studio,” he says. “Through every creation, I look for a particular vibration of the materials.”
The cocktail reception will be held on Tuesday 13th July at Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel from 5:30pm to 8pm. The exhibition will be viewable daily from 13th to 18th July, from 3pm to 9pm or by appointment at the gallery.
 
Top photo: Sonia Falcone, Royal Love. 
 
 

World leads set at Herculis EBS

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

It was an exciting day in athletics as Kenyan world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, Botswana’s Nijel Amos and Ethiopina Lamecha Girma all set world lead times at the Herculis Diamond League at Stade Louis II, whilst Faith Kipyegon from Kenya set the world lead for the ladies in the 1,500m.
Friday saw some amazing track and field action at the Herculis Diamond League event, giving fans a taste of what to expect in Toyko in the coming weeks at the Olympic Games.
Reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who is currently not eligible to race for his country in the Olympics, won the 1,500m with a time of 3:28.28, shaving a minuscule amount off his personal best time of 3:28.41. Spain’s Mohamed Katir and Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway rounded out the podium.
“Today’s race was good and I won it for the third time,” he said in an interview with Athletics Weekly. “I missed competition a lot after spending a lot of time in Kenya where I had a few issues like my hamstring injury and after also losing a relative in my family on the day of the Kenyan trials, explaining why I missed out on making the team. Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo. My hope now is to be in another Olympics, that is where my mindset is and I will be very happy if I achieve that.”
The men’s 800m saw another world lead by Nijel Amos from Botswana, who was the silver medal winner in the London Olympic Games in 2012, with a time of 1:42.91. Emmaunuel Kipkurui Korir from Kenya placed second and Marco Arop took third.
The 400m men’s hurdles was won by Norwegian Karsten Warholm, with the silver and bronze going to Alison Dos Santos from Brazil and Rasmus Mägi from Estonia respectively.
The 3,000m Steeplechase saw Ethiopian Lamecha Girma place first with a time of 8:07.75 followed by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot and France’s Djilali Bedrani.
The 100m sprint went to American Ronnie Baker with a zippy time of 9.91. Russian Akani Simbine was close behind in second, and third place went to Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs.
The high jump winner for men was Russian Mikhail Akimenko going 2.32 metres, and the long jump went to Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou who leapt 8.24 metres.
The women’s 1,500m was dominated by Faith Kipyegon from Kenya who has a world lead time of 3:51.07, followed by Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands and Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu in third.
The 800m event saw Brit Laura Muir take the top spot, with compatriot Jemma Reekie taking silver and American Kate Grace getting the bronze.
The 200m women’s event was won by the Bahama’s Shaunae Miller-Uibo, followed by Côte Ivoirian Marie-Josée Ta Lou and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Frasier-Price.
The 3,000m steeplechase found a winner in Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng. Fellow country woman Beatrice Chepkoech came second and Bahraini Winifred Yavi was third.
The top spot in pole vaulting went to American Katie Nageotte, with second and third going to Russian Anzhelika Sidorova and Greek Katerina Stefanidi.
Women’s triple jump saw Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts come out on top, with Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas in second and Patricia Mamona from Portugal in third.
Finally, the javelin throw was won by Czech Barbora Špotáková, with Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk taking silver and German Christin Hussong taking the bronze.
 
 
Photo of Timothy Cheruiyot, source: Diamond League