Monaco reveals step by step plan to end lockdown
Government of Monaco / Manuel Vitali
On Tuesday, April 28th, the Prince’s Government unveiled the details of the plan to bring Monaco out of lockdown, which will begin on May 4th.
Minister of State Serge Telle and the Government Ministers, Didier Gamerdinger (Minister of Social Affairs and Health), Patrice Cellario (Minister of the Interior) and Jean Castellini (Minister of Finance and the Economy), explained the gradual phasing-in of measures which will see a return to normal life.
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Given the situation has stabilised in Monaco, phasing-out lockdown will depend on the ability to comply with the proposed measures. Over seven weeks, Monaco saw 95 confirmed cases and four deaths. It will be deployed in stages, each new step depending on how the health situation evolves. From May 4th onwards, social distancing measures will remain as well as ten other essential terms.
The ten conditions
- Antibacterial gel available everywhere
- Regular disinfecting in busier areas where contact is likely
- Wearing a mask is highly recommended in public areas and mandatory in transport and shops
- Wearing gloves is not necessary
- Social distancing remains with measures such as scheduling appointments, limiting access into shops etc
- Barriers are recommended at cash registers
- Continuous checks on whether these standards are maintained
- For doctors’ practices, hairdressing salons, dentists, appointment scheduling will be mandatory to avoid waiting rooms
- No public gathering of more than five people
- No reopening of sports and playground areas
The three stages of ending lockdown
STAGE 1: May 4th
- Places which will open include all shops to open (one person/4m²), except cafés, restaurants, hotels, etc.
- Places of worship (1.5 m. safety distance + mask)
- Hairdressing, beauty salons or treatment rooms by appointment only
- Private and public worksites
- Continuation of take-away sales (with queue control)
- Resumption of regular bus service
- Prohibition of stopovers by cruise ships
- Authorised harbour exits for private boats
- Partial resumption of traffic at the Heliport (private charters)
- Civil service activities to return while continuing to encourage working remotely videoconferencing. However, the institutions dealing directly with the public will reopen
STAGE 2: May 11th
Gradual and partial resumption of activity in schools, giving priority to exam classes and obeying a strict framework of respect for health standards. Teachers and pupils must wear masks with classes splitting into two. School canteens remain closed, and there will be no sports classes.
The new school calendar is as follows:
May 11th: final year students return (première and terminale as well as BTS students).
May 18th: secondary school students return (sixième, troisième and AIS classes)
May 25th: primary school return (CP and CM2 classes)
All the other classes are to continue online teaching. No nursery schools and daycare are to reopen, nor the Music Academy.
STAGE 3: from June, onwards
This phase will only go forward if residents of Monaco properly observe the terms during the first two phases. The Government is prepared to consider reopening:
- Restaurants and cafés
- Casinos
- Museums
- Cinemas
- Sports activities (mainly individual outdoor sports)
- Beaches and swimming pools
- Sports centres
Minister of State Serge Telle stressed that it will be necessary “to remain wary of economic activity and the virus spreading further” and “to find a balance between health and restarting the economy.”
He added that Monaco’s residents will not see “life as it was before” since they will have to “live with a virus that we do not really know.” Nevertheless, he asserted that “as we have controlled the epidemic, we must restore a semblance of normal life”.