Covid-19: Rise in fines, as government calls for “individual responsibility”

The government met to assess how Monaco is faring, stressing that at the moment, a lockdown is not currently being considered.

On Monday 9 November, Monaco recorded 4 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases to 490. 16 patients are currently hospitalised at the Princess Grace Hospital, 3 of them in ICU. 87 people are self-isolating, while the total number of recoveries has risen to 369.

A week after Monaco introduced a curfew, Monaco’s minister of state, Pierre Dartout, met with the Health Minister and the Interior Minister to discuss the evolution of the pandemic in the Principality.

Rise in fines…

Last week, the government called for more systematic police checks to ensure that protective measures are enforced throughout Monaco. The police have now given out about 100 fines for not wearing masks,  26 for breaking the curfew, as well as 25 warnings for breaking social-distancing rules.

… even if overall protective measures have been respected

An estimated 85% of the population has been wearing masks in public spaces, news which the government welcomes. Pierre Dartout made once again a plea for individual responsibility. “We can only wind this battle if everyone is responsible. We cannot put a policeman behind every person,” he said.

Monaco is faring better than France

Even if the number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people nearly double last week, the government stresses that the situation does not justify extreme measures. Currently, Monaco’s incidence rate is at 315,79 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 168,42 last week. However, Monaco’s numbers remain below France, which has a national average of 457,6 cases per 100,000 people. The south-east of France is faring better than a lot of the country and currently has an incidence rate of 367. 

Pierre Dartout also drew attention to the rate at which Monaco’s covid tests come back positive. “The positivity rate is 8.75 compared to 20.3 in France. Despite these numbers, we have no plans for a lockdown. We believe that our current measures are suited for Monaco,” he said.