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Day: 3 September 2021

New Covid variant could be more resistant to vaccine

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/09/2021

The World Health Organisation has published a report declaring that a new “variant of interest”, which they are calling Mu, may be able to sidestep the vaccine.
Move over Delta, there’s a new Covid variant in town and the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns this one may be able to resist current vaccines. Called the Mu variant, it is being closely monitored by the world health watchdog who has found the strain increasingly prevalent in America, Columbia and Ecuador but has also seen outbreaks in Europe.
The global prevalence of this mutation remains relatively low at 0.1%, though it’s on the rise in the two South American nations, accounting for 39% of new cases in Columbia and 13% in Ecuador. The agency cautions that the reports on the prevalence should be “interpreted with due consideration” given the low sequencing capacities of most countries.
Mu is the WHO’s fifth variant of interest since March, which has found in preliminary data that the strain has shown a reduced effectiveness of vaccines, much like in the case of the Beta variant. The WHO said it would be monitoring “the epidemiology of the Mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant…for changes.”
The variant has also been detected “sporadically” in France since May, according to Public Health France. As of 25th August, 105 detections had been recorded. But its level of circulation remains very low, with a prevalence of “0.3% or less”. By comparison, 98.1% of positive tests concerned the Delta variant on 26thAugust, according to the latest epidemiological figures.
 
 

Autumn events coming to Espace Léo Ferré

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/09/2021

The Espace Léo Ferré returns this autumn giving audiences an excellent range of entertainment options from music to comedy.

As the chill returns to the air after a long, hot summer, the Espace Léo Ferré will be heating up with a line-up of musical and comedic events sure to please any crowd.

First up on 24th September will be a musical tribute to the works of Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel entitled ‘Don’t Give Up’. Based on the song title from the hit duet performed by Bush and Gabriel in 1986, fans will be able to walk down memory lane and hear all their favourites from these two inspiring artists. The show starts at 8:30pm and tickets are €18.

Next, on 15th October, Gaspard Proust will hit the stage with his special brand of dark, biting comedy. The Slovenian-Swiss humourist returns to the Principality after first wooing back in 2007, and his career has skyrocketed becoming a columnist for Le Point as well as co-host of the popular talk show Salut les Terrienson Canal+. His shows, always filled with a deeply cynical and hilarious tone, are sure to have audiences rolling in the aisles. The fun starts at 8:30pm and tickets are on sale for €36. The event is for those aged 16 and over only.

Finally, on 5th November, comedian Maxime Gasteuil comes to Monaco with his new show ‘Maxime Gasteuil Comes to Town’. The comic, originally from Saint-Emilion, uses auto-biographical material about his life in Paris to tickle funny bones, poking fun at everything from Parisians and the metro to organic markets and Starbucks. His plain-spoken look at daily life for 30-somethings in the capital makes for great comedy and a great night out. Tickets are going for €24 and the show starts at 8:30pm. The event is appropriate for those 10 years of age and older.

Espace Léo Ferré also has a new website in order to check out all the latest info on the happenings, which can be found at www.especeleoferre.mc.

 
 
Photo source: Mairie de Monaco
 
 

Back to school protocol outlined for Monaco

by: Stephanie Horsman
03/09/2021

When students in Monaco return to school on Monday, little will change in terms of health protocol, says the government, especially when it comes to the health pass.

Commissioner General in charge of the Department of National Education, Youth and Sports, Isabelle Bonnal, who is overseeing her 11th rentrée, held a press conference Thursday regarding the upcoming return to classes, saying, “I am confident, we have put in a lot of work for back-to-school as you can imagine, for six months in advance for the 5,715 students who with be returning Monday morning.”

The new regulations for this school year will be familiar as the health protocols remain similar to last year. According to Ms Bonnal, “the measures having demonstrated their effectiveness” in the past will, by and large, be carried into the future.

Masks will be obligatory for pupils starting in first grade, and hygiene rules will continue. Hand washing several times per day, use of anti-viral gel, limited mixing, respect for social distancing and frequent cleaning of ventilation systems are some of the main features highlighted for the year.

But one of the biggest differences in Monaco from neighbouring France is the health pass. “The government has decided that access to schools will not be conditional on the presentation of a health pass, both for students and for staff,” Ms Bonnal said.

Kindergarten classes will be immediately sent home with a single positive case as they are not required to wear masks. For older students, if three pupils from the same class test positive, then the class will be sent home. “If a person is considered to be a high-risk contact case, they will be evicted whether or not they are vaccinated,” said the Commissioner.

Catering will follow last year’s protocols, and mask wearing will be necessary for indoor sport, though “the establishments will do everything in their power to ensure that the vast majority of sports lessons are given outdoors, in playgrounds for example,” said Ms Bonnal.

On the non-health front, there will be some changes to the national education curriculum with regards to language. From the beginning of the school year “second year students of the European and international sections of the Albert I Lycée will be able to follow, on an experimental basis, optional teaching in English in mathematics and / or physics and chemistry,” said Ms Bonnal, adding, “This is in order to meet the expectations of students who, after the baccalaureate, move towards scientific studies in foreign universities.”

Other new additions will be the offer of learning Greek, in addition to Latin, from 8th grade.

The Adapted General and Vocational Education Section (SEGPA) students will continue to benefit from the use of laptops distributed by the schools, before then giving access to laptops to the students of Albert I during the first semester. New state financial aid services will also go online in 2022. “We would like to facilitate the procedures and reduce the processing time even if the paper process will remain possible,” said Ms Bonnal on this point.

2022 marks the 100-year anniversary of the death of Albert I and students will benefit from several activities such as musical events put on by the Monaco Philharmonic Orchestra, film screenings at the Audio-Visual Institute, and workshops at the Oceanographic Museum.

Ms Bonnal also made clear her pride in the students and teachers of the Principality who achieved excellent results last year, despite the hardships, but reminded them that they need to keep working hard. “Let’s not forget, there is no easy success.” 

 
 
 
Photo source: Unsplash