Covid-19: five new cases recorded in Monaco as face masks become mandatory

On Tuesday, Monaco recorded 5 new coronavirus transmissions. On the same day, the government also announced that wearing face masks will become mandatory in the busier areas of the Principality.

The pandemic doesn’t seem to be getting any better. With 5 new cases declared on August 11, the Principality has now had 138 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Five people are currently hospitalised at the local hospital, the “Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace”, and 10 others are currently self-isolating at home, with local GPs keeping track of their health. The total of recovered patients remains at 138.

Russia approves first coronavirus vaccine

On Tuesday, the government also announced a series of new measures to help tackle the health and economic crisis brought about by the pandemic. From August 12, face masks will be compulsory outside the Prince’s Palace (Place du Palais) and the Casino (Place du Casino), as well as in the old town and in the Fontvieille shopping centre. An increase in the number of tourists who are currently visiting Monaco and a rise in imported cases were decisive in these new regulations.

During a press conference on August 11, the Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that Russia has successfully developed a vaccine against Covid-19. The vaccine will go by the name of “Sputnik V” in honour of the 1957 soviet satellite, the first spacecraft to ever be launched into orbit. The international community registered the news cautiously, given that clinical trials for the Russian vaccine are still underway. The World Health Organization has said that they are in close contact with Russian health authorities, reminding that before any vaccine can qualify for distribution, it must first be rigorously reviewed and assessed.