As the world braces itself for the latest Covid mutation and a fifth wave, vaccinations are more important than ever in the fight against serious illness and death. So, where is the Principality in its campaign?
The government stopped publicly releasing its weekly vaccination figures in mid-September, when it reported that 77% of the eligible population aged 12 and over had received at least their first dose of Covid vaccine.
Olivier Arrindell is not shy about the grand expectations he has for Ava Airways, the airline venture he founded some years ago to properly connect Europe to the Caribbean and the Americas.
“I am trying to make the Caribbean and South America so accessible that you can finish work on a Friday, go to the beach in the Caribbean on Saturday, and be back in Europe for work on Monday, for a fraction of the price,” he tells Monaco Life during his recent trip to the Principality.
Born on the French/Dutch Island of Saint Maarten, the financial engineer aims to not only connect Europe but also north and south America to Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean, with flight paths that are as endearing as his personality.
“Saint Vincent, Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, Antigua, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Maarten, Santo Domingo, Cayman Island, Bahamas, Cuba and many others… it is very difficult for people in the Caribbean to be able to connect with each other, or to connect to Latin America. It is also difficult for people in the Caribbean and Latin America to connect to Europe.”
Ava Airways is a Dominican Republic airline with its headquarters and airline operator’s certificate (AOC) base in Santo Domingo.
The carrier’s inaugural flight was planned for March 2020, however due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this had to be postponed and Arrindell now points to a last quarter of 2022 launch date.
“The advantage Ava Airways has as an evolving airline that has not completed its inaugural flight because of Covid is that it allowed us to choose the best technologies that are in place, conscious of the people who love technology and conscious of the people who are ignorant to technology,” he says. “Europe, for example, is very tech based, but in the Caribbean, they love to go to a booking agent, so we have developed a model that works for both.”
Thanks to a partnership with APG, Ava Airways will be represented in 70 countries through more than 100,000 agents, travel management companies, consolidators and online travel agencies.
Arrindell says the airline will use the Airbus 320 for flights throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, and North America route network, and start with the Airbus 330-200 for distribution throughout the US west coast, Canadian west coast, South America and Europe then convert to the Airbus 350-900.
An economy class round trip from Paris to Aruba is estimated to be around €780-€880.
“As a financial engineer, my team and I have figured out an economical model that allows for affordable flights while being profitable at the same time,” he says. “Legacy airlines, like many in Europe and North America, normally have a population workforce of the country where I was born, but we can create an economic scale that is better.”
By employing a diversified staff, Arrindell says the privately owned, commercial airline will also have an enormous social impact.
“I am bringing humanity back to aviation with a clean concept and an economical model that is vibrant with the unification of the Caribbean on one platform, with dignity, respect, and equality, and mutual trade.”
Olivier Arrindell says the company is now paying key attention to the Dominican Republic Senate. “At the present, we have all the licenses in place, and we are focusing on providing moral support to Dominican Senator Dr. Ivan Silva, who has presented a modification of some articles of the aviation regulations which will modernise the aviation system, and this for me is a great initiative. I also have confidence in our President Luis Abinader to keep the Dominican Republic moving forward with transparent policies for its economy.”
So, why is Olivier Arrindell in Monaco? “We are at the stage of launching, but obviously it is always good to find more partners so that we can be a stronger success,” he says.
But he acknowledges that there are some hurdles to overcome, primarily the lack of diversification in the airline investment world.
“I believe in dignity, respect and equal opportunity for women, men and people of colour,” says Arrindell resolutely. “And I believe that one should be judged on their potential. But in my industry, one of the most difficult aspects for me is to join hands with those who will equitize their confidence in us, as opposed to giving their money to a European person that went bankrupt three times.
“Because at the end of the day, as they say in the Casino de Monte-Carlo, ‘always bet on black’.”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the Dominican economy will grow 9.5% in 2021, a percentage slightly higher than the 9.1% recently estimated by the World Bank. The positive projection is contrary to the drop of -6.7% registered by the local economy in 2020, because of the economic closures imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Looking ahead, Arrindell is optimistic about the airline industry’s recovery in the European market, quoting recent research by financial services agency Moody’s Analytics that found consumers around the world have stockpiled an extra $5.4 trillion of savings since the coronavirus pandemic began, creating a more positive outlook for passenger demand once international travel restrictions are removed.
The new Omicron variant of the Covid virus, originally spotted in South Africa, has reached France, but is it really something to be worried about?
On Sunday evening, the French Health Ministry reported eight cases of the latest headline-making Covid variant, dubbed Omicron, on their shores. These numbers have been gleaned from passengers who have tested positive after trips to Africa in the past two weeks.
The hype around the variant has been at near-fever pitch, with explanations stating how different it is from other variants thus far and what that means in terms of spread and mortality rates.
Whilst there is still much to be learned about Omicron, early reports from experts have been quite encouraging.
Scientists who work for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the body of scientists who are closely monitoring the Covid virus for the UK government, have said the variant “is not a disaster” and that people may be “hugely overstating the situation”.
Whilst it has been labelled a variant “of concern” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it has not been proven to be more lethal than the Delta variant or resistant to current vaccines.
Asked whether people should be fearful of the new variant, SAGE’s Professor Semple told BBC Breakfast: “This is not a disaster, and the headlines from some of my colleagues saying ‘this is horrendous’ I think are hugely overstating the situation. Immunity from the vaccination is still likely to protect you from severe disease. You might get a snuffle or a headache or a filthy cold, but your chance of coming into hospital or intensive care or sadly dying are greatly diminished by the vaccine and still will be going into the future.”
These comforting words are backed by on-the-ground reports from South Africa, where the variant is thought to have originated, with hospitals and doctors’ offices across the country saying basically the same things: that it is unusual, but very mild.
Roughly 90% of all new cases in Johannesburg are now of the Omicron variety, but death rates and hospitalisations remain about the same. This is giving rise to a theory that this infectious but less deadly form may actually eradicate the more serious Delta variant, a possibility that some health care professionals are looking at as a blessing in disguise.
Omicron has over 30 mutations, about twice the number of Delta, which does make it more transmissible, but if symptoms remain in the mild category, the mutation may turn out to be a positive.
Dr Angelique Coetzee told various newspapers in South Africa that “Symptoms are so different and so mild from [non-Omicron] Covid patients I have treated before.”
Looking at the first data coming out of Southern Africa, virologist Marc van Ranst said this weekend that “if the Omicron variant is less pathogenic but with greater infectivity, allowing Omicron to replace Delta, this would be very positive.”
Of course, there is no certainty on this and the situation will continue to be closely monitored, but these initial reports are a glimmer of positivity in what has been a long, dark road.
Vaccine makers are already looking at ways to tweak the doses using the genetic sequence of Omicron and say testing and manufacturing could begin in weeks.
Despite the lack of severity, Omicron is causing an already jittery European Union and UK to put measures in place to stop the spread until more is known. Flights from several African nations have been suspended and, in some cases, testing on passengers has been instated, whether the passenger is fully vaccinated or not.
After last year’s disastrous holiday season, no leader wants to be the Grinch who Stole Christmas a second year in a row, so for now, erring on the side of caution seems to be the way to go.
A last-second Lyon-Villeurbanne three-pointer condemned AS Monaco basketball to an agonising 84-85 defeat in the Euroleague, as Zvezdan Mitrovic’s men slumped to a third consecutive defeat.
After last week’s away losses against Anadolu Efes and Maccabi Tel Aviv, AS Monaco basketball returned home to the Salle Gaston Medecin on Friday to a festival atmosphere as over 4,000 fans packed the hall. That, however, wasn’t enough to rouse the Principality side as Lyon swept into an early 0-8 lead.
Mitrovic’s men quickly made up for their slow start, scoring 10 unanswered points, as the two sides finished the first quarter neck-and-neck (21-22). An energetic Lyon defence, efficient in recovering the ball, consolidated their solid defensive work with impressive attacking accuracy. A flurry of two and three pointers for Lyon saw the game slide away from Mitrovic’s men in the second quarter (19-26).
Similar to their recovery during the first quarter, AS Monaco fought back after the half-time break. Paris Lee, with his inexhaustible energy levels, was a source of great creativity as well as points for the Roca side, and his contribution was pivotal in clawing Monaco back into the game.
Mitrovic’s men’s impressive third quarter performance (22-14), which limited Lyon’s scoring opportunities, set up the game for a grand-stand finish as the sides went into the final quarter level on points. Mike James’s direct running and efficient finishing allowed Monaco to edge ahead of their French rivals. With just over one minute on the clock, Monaco had a slender two-point lead. This was quickly overturned, and by the time the clock ticked below the minute mark, Lyon led by a single point. The Salle Gaston Medecin erupted when some excellent defensive work from Lee gave the Mitrovic’s men the opportunity to edge back in-front, which was duly converted by Will Thomas.
The game looked settled as the seconds ticked away, but there was one last sting in the tail, as a long-range William Howard three-pointer from near the half-way line cruelly took the victory away from Monaco on the gong, after a lengthy referee review.
Although happy to have participated in a thriller, Mitrovic couldn’t help but address the controversial manner in which Lyon secured their victory, as the winning points were secured with only a matter of milliseconds on the clock. “It was an incredible end to the match, and tragic for us. We had the game in our hands… The referees have made their decision. Look, I’m receiving photos of the buzzer lights and the ball doesn’t seem to have left Howard’s fingers.”
AS Monaco will have to quickly get over this agonising defeat and try and get their Euroleague campaign back on track as they face Fenerbahce in Turkey on Thursday.
Photo source: AS Monaco Basketball
AS Monaco couldn’t back-up their midweek triumph against Real Sociedad on Sunday, as Nico Kovac’s men only managed a draw against fellow mid-table side Strasbourg, which saw them slip further adrift of the European places.
Kovac has previously questioned his players’ motivation in Ligue 1 fixtures, but this wasn’t evident in the opening stages of this fixture. Deploying a 4-4-2, AS Monaco got a lot of joy down the wings, especially down the left-wing where Ruben Aguilar and Aleksandr Golovin were producing nice combinations and providing lots of dangerous crosses.
One such cross from Aguilar found Wissam Ben Yedder in the box, who did well to control and get off a shot, which hit the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly along the line before being cleared. AS Monaco continued to dominate proceedings, and were disappointed not to receive a penalty as the ball seemingly struck the arm of a Strasbourg player in the box; to the dismay of the 3,500 strong crowd, VAR didn’t overturn the decision.
Monaco did, however, get the reward for their hard work just before the break. Kevin Volland was brought down in the box and Ben Yedder confidently converted the penalty to put the Principality side ahead on the stroke of half-time.
All of that hard work was, however, undone in an instant. Only seconds into the second-half, ex-Strasbourg player Youssouf Fofana did his former club a favour and brought down Ludovic Ajorque in the box to give the away side an unlikely route back unto the match. Ajorque then stepped up to take the penalty, and sent Aleksandr Nübel the wrong way.
What ensued was a disappointing, frustrating half of football as, despite a formation change and multiple substitutions, Kovac’s men failed to create any clear-cut opportunities to get back in-front. Volland, however, should have done better when he found himself unmarked on the edge of the box, but could only shoot tamely into the arms of Matz Sels in the Strasbourg goal. It was the shot of a striker low on confidence, and his lack of efficiency, coupled with his inability to hold the ball up, began to frustrate the home crowd, which was becoming increasingly restless as the half wore-on.
Despite their creative deficiencies, AS Monaco did muster one final opportunity. Myron Boadu, on as a substitute, found himself unmarked six yards out, but his volley, which was ultimately the final kick off the game, flew agonisingly wide. Cue the final whistle, accompanied by a chorus of boos from the dissatisfied Monaco faithful.
Kovac didn’t hide his disappointment post-match. “We weren’t at the level that we recorded three days ago against Real Sociedad… Overall, it wasn’t enough today, but the Angers match is coming up quickly, and we’ll have a new opportunity to do better.”
Kovac will be hoping for a victory away at Angers on Wednesday, which could ignite their stuttering league season, and help them close the gap on the European places.
Photo by Luke Entwistle for Monaco Life
Professor Eliane Gluckman of the Scientific Centre of Monaco has been awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award of Pediatric Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Consortium, a very competitive award that recognises researchers who have made major contributions in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children.
The award crowns Professor Gluckman’s entire career dedicated to cell therapy research that has resulted in the life-saving treatment of children with leukemia or life-threatening hereditary diseases.
The distinction honours individuals whose work exemplifies the mission of the Pediatric Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Consortium “To support research and education to improve the availability, safety and efficacy of hematopoietic cell transplantation and other cell therapies for children and adolescents”.
The award will be announced on Pediatric Day on 3rd February 2022 during the American Transplantation and Cell Therapy Society’s 2022 Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Meetings, to be held in Salt Lake City, United States.
Following the official award ceremony, Prof. Eliane Gluckman will have the opportunity to present the main achievements of her research and provide directions for research on pediatric transplants.
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