Month: November 2021

The Covid incidence rate in the Principality has reached over 100, up from 55 a week earlier, a worrying indicator heading into winter.
As the weather turns cooler, more people begin congregating indoors. This normal seasonal transition is fine under normal circumstances, but in times of Covid, it means that numbers start to rise again.
In Monaco on Monday, eight new cases were revealed, putting the Principality’s total Covid count since the start of the pandemic at 3,486 people. It was also announced that the incidence rate had gone from 54.76 at the previous count to 106.71 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the past seven days, almost twice the number.
Nine infected people are currently being treated at the Princess Grace Hospital. Eight, including three residents, are under normal care, whilst one non-resident is in intensive care. Thirty people are being followed by the Home Monitoring Care system, which invites patients with few symptoms to receive medical support from home.
Meanwhile, seven additional people were reported to be fully recovered bringing the total number to 3,407.
There were 3,596 PCR or antigen tests carried out in the Principality between 8^th and 14^th November, with a positivity rate of 2.45%.
In Monaco’s neighbouring Alpes-Maritimes region, the incidence rate currently stands at 122 per 100,000, higher than the French overall incidence rate of 100.
The positivity rate from tests in the region sits at 3.1%.
The hospitals are seeing intensive care occupancy for Covid in PACA hit 31%, again higher than the French national average of 25%.
Vigilance is being asked for as cases rise and temperatures plummet. Observing the standard protocols, such as mask-wearing, hand washing and social distancing, can assist in keeping numbers down, while vaccinations help keep the number of people going into hospital with severe cases to a minimum.
 
 
Photo source: Pixabay
 
 
 

The French government has reacted to the bombshell announcement by the Austrians that all unvaccinated people will be put into lockdown, urging people to “take responsibility” to prevent the same measures from happening in France.
Amid a surge in Covid infections, the Austrian government, via Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, announced on Sunday that lockdown measures will be imposed, effective Monday 15^th November, on all those aged 12 and over who remain unvaccinated in the country.
The decision sent shockwaves throughout Europe and prompted the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, to take to the airwaves Sunday night to warn the people that authorities are determined to do everything necessary to prevent another lockdown, and that other countries, such as Austria, are pre-emptively taking action.
“Everything must be done to avoid a new confinement”, Le Maire said on BFMTV. “Because it is not good for us, for our private lives, for society, for the morale of our children, for the economy and the businesses which have started to restart.
“Everyone must take their responsibilities and, in their soul and conscience, weigh the pros and cons. I think the pros of vaccination far outweigh the cons. Even if you are not doing it for yourself, do it for your loved ones, for all the frustrated citizens who see people returning to hospitals and intensive care rooms who have not been vaccinated, do it for others.”
While the minister acknowledged that the situation in France is better than the same time last year, he reminded people that contamination is still very possible. To put a fine point on it, he reminded people that social distancing was as important as ever.
The Austrian lockdown was planned for in September in the event that 30% of intensive care beds became occupied by Covid patients. With only 65% of the population fully jabbed, the inevitable happened and that grim milestone was passed, triggering the lockdown.
The Austrians are not alone. Authorities in the Netherlands announced a three-week partial lockdown on Friday due to rising cases.
“Tonight, we are bringing a very unpleasant message with very unpleasant and far-reaching measures,” Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a televised address, ordering restaurants, supermarkets and non-essential retailers to close early and reimposing social distancing measures. “The virus is everywhere and needs to be combated everywhere.”
Norway, too, announced new measures on Friday, whilst German ministers are heading down a similar path to their Austrian neighbours, telling the public that the unvaccinated will be banned from gyms, indoor dining, bars, cinemas and hairdressers from next week.
 
Photo credit: Matteo Jorjoson on Unsplash