HSH Prince Albert announced on Thursday evening that the current coronavirus regulations and restrictions will stay in place at least until January 15. He said that the residents of the Principality must continue to be vigilant in the face of the health crisis in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.
“The stabilisation of the health situation made it possible, at the beginning of November, to impose a curfew less restrictive than confinement. However, we must not relax our efforts or compromise the achievements of these results by lifting these health measures too quickly, or relaxing our behaviour. We are living in an exceptional and particularly difficult situation, from which we have not yet emerged.”
The curfew will not take effect until 23:30 on December 24, and it will be possible to make use of an extra 30 minutes to make it home before midnight. However, on New Year’s Eve the curfew will come into effect as usual at 20:00 and non-residents will be able to travel to Monaco only if they have a hotel reservation.
Strict checks will be in place to stop non-residents entering the Principality on December 31, when in previous years Monaco has been a traditional venue for New Year celebrations. Restaurants will be allowed to remain open until 22:30 on December 31 and the curfew will start at 23:30.
Sporting activities can resume with strict sanitary rules in place, the Sovereign said, adding that Minister of State Pierre Dartout will announce more details of the changes to the regulations on Friday, December 18.
Finally, Prince Albert said that while a vaccination programme will be announced very soon, we should not interpret this as enabling an immediate return to normal life. “We will have to wait several months before that is possible,” he said.
FILE PHOTO: HSH Prince Albert addressing the country on October 29
