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Day: 16 July 2021

Monaco establishes its first e-Embassy in Luxembourg

by: Cassandra Tanti
16/07/2021

The Principality now has an e-Embassy in Luxembourg, a digital innovation that is designed to protect Monaco’s sensitive data in the event of a cyberattack or natural disaster.
The Principality’s e-Embassy on Luxembourg soil was officially born on 15th July when Monaco’s Minister of State Pierre Dartout and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel signed a bilateral agreement.
It is the first of its kind for Monaco and offers the same guarantees of inviolability and immunity as those granted to a physical embassy.
The deal safeguards sensitive computer data in the case of a natural disaster or cyberattack in the Principality. It means that Luxembourg will host the digital twin version of Monaco’s sovereign cloud.
“This e-Embassy was designed and built in Luxembourg, but with our security standards to ensure the sovereignty of our national digital data,” said Monaco’s Interministerial Delegate in charge of the Digital Transition Frédéric Genta, the main architect of the agreement.
Estonia was the first country to establish an e-Embassy in Luxembourg in 2015, and Monaco is the second. The concept of e-Embassies is an innovation in diplomatic relations that ensures the hosting of sensitive data in a friendly country combined with guarantees of immunity.
While it is a totally new concept in international law, the same rules apply as they do for actual embassies – the data centres constitute sovereign territory of the country that owns the data.
The data saved in these virtual embassies are copies of a country’s most sensitive and confidential data, or even digital twins of a country’s ‘cloud’. Thus in a world in which cyberattacks are on the increase, e-embassies are designed to help protect vital data and services that are essential to the smooth running of a country, thereby reducing the potential impact of a cyberattack.
 
 
Photo of Pierre Dartout and Xavier Bettel by SIP – JC Verhaegen
 
 
 
 

What should I do after a holiday abroad?

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/07/2021

It is vacation season, and while travel to high-risk zones is still discouraged, many international borders are open throughout the world. So, what are residents expected to do when re-entering the Principality after a holiday abroad?
The government of Monaco has not, as yet, implemented strict rules for returning citizens and residents, including the need to present a negative PCR test. However, with the fast-spreading Delta variant on the loose, they are strongly encouraging it for the safety of all.
The government recently updated the travel information on its Covid information page Covid-19.mc to suggest that all returning residents get a PCR test to help curb the spread of the Delta variant, including those who have been fully vaccinated.
“Following the rapid spread of the Delta variant in several regions of Europe, the Prince’s Government invites all residents returning from a stay abroad to be tested. Today, many contaminations are brought in by people returning from a stay who can in turn contaminate those in their own homes. Preventive screening when returning from vacation can quickly break a chain of contamination,” the government states on its website.
The circulation of the virus has increased over recent weeks in Monaco, with the incidence rate doubling to 91, according to the latest figures. Though the number of hospitalisations remains fairly stable, the fear is that this new variant may put pressure on the Princess Grace Hospital once again.
The fast-moving Delta variant is the predominant strain of the Covid virus in the Principality’s neighbouring region, the Alpes-Maritimes. On 11th July, the variant was detected in 80.9% of tests taken in the area and was found mostly in the 20 to 29-year-old age range, showing this version of the virus is attacking younger people more than previous ones.
 
 
 
Photo by Lukas Souza on Unsplash
 
 
 
 

Monaco donating thousands of vaccines to WHO initiative

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/07/2021

Prince Albert II has announced that Monaco will be giving away 15,600 doses of Covid vaccine to countries that are having difficulty obtaining the life-saving drug.

In the Principality, receiving a Covid jab is as simple as making an appointment and turning up on time, but this isn’t the case in many places around the world. Several countries are struggling to find enough vaccines for their populations, leaving even the most vulnerable at high risk.

The Principality is working to help rectify this situation by donating 15,600 doses of the Covid vaccine to the Covax programme, an initiative launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure more jabs are available to those countries struggling to get them.

A press release from the Palace states that “the Princely government has shown, from the launch of the Covax Facility, its intention to participate in this initiative with the signing, on October 9, 2020, of an agreement to purchase vaccine doses.” 

The doses will be given directly to the WHO which will distribute them “in an equitable manner according to the needs that will have been identified by it,” said the Palace.

The goal of Covax is to dispense two billion doses by the end of this year to any needy country despite their ability to pay.

 
 
Photo by Adrià Crehuet Cano on Unsplash
 
 
 

Monaco’s beach accessible to all

by: Stephanie Horsman
16/07/2021

The newly reopened Larvotto Beach and complex is now equipped with special devices to help the visually and physically handicapped spend days in the sun in safety and security. 
Who doesn’t like a good beach day? A simple outing many of us take for granted can be a difficult task when a person has limited mobility or is sight impaired. In order to give everyone the same chance to enjoy fun in the sun, the Department of Action and Social Aid, the Soroptimist Club of Monaco and four trained helpers have joined together to create the Handiplage/Audioplage site for summer 2021.
Inaugurated at Larvotto Beach, the site has four “handiplagists”, trained helpers located to the right of the jetty during the months of July and August every day from 10am to 5pm, to assist beachgoers who have special needs.
For the physically challenged, there are four tirolo floating chairs that are equipped with comfortable reclining seats and big tyres, making crossing the sand a cinch, as well as allowing for cooling dips in the sea.
For those with limited sight, the beach offers a sound beacon system to make getting around convenient.
Toilets, showers, a ramp from the sea and specially adapted parking are also available.
Additionally, a three-hour parking package is available for those using the service as an added incentive to get them out and enjoying the beach. Booking is obligatory for the Audio service and can be done on +33 6 78 63 09 41.
 
 
Photo by the National Council of Monaco