Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has called on Monegasque authorities to either close its restaurants or ban non-essential travellers from entering the Principality in an effort to control a resurgence of the Covid-19 epidemic in the Alpes-Maritimes.
The mayor held a digital press conference on Monday morning after talking to the newly formed local health council about the current coronavirus situation. He raised concerns about the rising incidence rate – at 323 per 100,000 on 27th December – which is more than double the national average.
However, he noted that the hospital load in the Alpes-Maritimes, with 40 people in intensive care and 154 others in conventional hospitalisation, reflected “a stabilisation of the situation”.
Christian Estrosi said he spoke with the Minister of Health Olivier Véran on Sunday and that he had made a number of requests that he would like to see within 24 hours.
Reciprocal quarantine with Italy
The mayor declared that he would like to see mandatory quarantine for all travellers who cross the Italian border into France, “reciprocating what Italy has put in place”.
Between Monaco and France
Christian Estrosi also asked for travel restrictions between the Alpes-Maritimes and the Principality of Monaco where hotels and restaurants remain open.
“Either Monaco sets up the same health protocol as the French state or measures are taken at the border to avoid back-and-forth between these two territories and restrict it to professionals with a certificate,” he said during the press conference.
Prince Albert and his government are yet to respond to Estrosi’s call for the Principality to either close its establishments or ban non-essential travellers from entering.
However, Monaco has already imposed a ban on visitor’s coming to the territory on 31st December unless they have a hotel reservation.
“Our priority objective remains the health protection of the population (…),” said Prince Albert in a recent address to his citizens. “We must also allow our economy to function, under certain constraints, in order to preserve our social model.”
Mandatory airport tests
The mayor wants PCR tests to be mandatory for all travellers arriving at Nice airport.
“The report at the airport is that only travelers from Tunisia are 100% tested. We ask the government to require airlines to test all their passengers, regardless of their origin, or ban them from serving Nice if they are not able to do so,” insisted Estrosi. The airport currently registers 120 flights per day compared to 20 two weeks ago.
Retail checks
While municipal police checks have been strengthened in Nice, Christian Estrosi said that controls to determine whether retail stores are complying with the rules will also be a priority. He suggested a decree could be introduced to limit the occupancy rate of supermarkets to 50% of their capacity.
Curfew
The mayor said that he intends to ask the prefect to bring the curfew forward to 6pm or 7pm in areas where the circulation is higher.
Vaccinations
Mayor Christian Estrosi also wants France’s vaccination campaign to prioritise the departments with worrying incidence rates, such as the Alpes-Maritimes where he says the campaign should begin “immediately”.
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