Evening Update Monday 6 April 2020

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, has announced that the wearing of face masks will be mandatory in the streets of Nice. He said that all residents of Nice will be issued with a reusable fabric  face mask within 8-10 days. M. Estosi also announced that the curfew would begin at 8pm instead of 10pm in "four or five" areas of the city. So far, the Notre-Dame, Saint-Charles and Trachel districts are affected by the new curfew times. He also announce that sport will only be authorized between 6 a.m. and midday and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. He said that the new measures had been taken because of what he called "unacceptable relaxation" of the confinement measure over the weekend. A further statement by the mayor will be made within 48 hours

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Cannes has confirmed that all residents of Cannes will be provided with an approved standard fabric mask. He said that production is in progress of the three-layer model validated by the French Society of Hospital Hygiene consisting of 1 layer of viscose between 2 layers of cotton with a large surface mass.

The Monaco government has released details of the number of controls performed to enforce the containment measures over the weekend. Just over 3,500 checks, both at the borders of the Principality and on its territory. About 200 people were invited to return home, because the rules about short trips weren't being respected. Twenty fines were imposed on individuals who could not justify their presence on the public highway. During the controls carried out at the border, nearly 120 vehicles were denied access to Monaco.

Plans to transfer six patients suffering from coronavirus to the Czech Republic have been cancelled. It was planned to send the patients from eastern France but French Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe has now informed Andrej Babiš, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, that the transfer now won't be necessary because of the improving situation in the east of France.

A digital travel certificate has been made available by the French government for all outings during the confinement period. To download the digital certificate you can go to www.media.interieur.gouv.fr The paper version of the certificate remains valid but all certificates must be updated with the date, reason and time of leaving your domicile.

New figures on the number of deaths from the coronavirus in French hospitals have been released this afternoon by Santé Publique France. They show that 357 coronavirus patients lost their lives whilst in hospital in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 5,891 nationally. The Île-de-France and the Grand Est regions continue to have the highest number of hospital deaths, with the Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur region recording a figure of 195 in total, which is an increase of 17 in the past 24 hours.

The authorities in Monaco have announced this morning that two new contact points have been set up to help victims of domestic violence in the Principality during the confinement period. Victims are now able to use their local pharmacies as a contact point or email the police at sos-violences@gouv.mc. These new measures are in additional to the usual possibility of calling 17 or 93.15.30.15.

The French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire has said that France will suffer its worst recession since the end of the Second World War this year. He said that the worst French growth figure since the war was is in 2009 when the French economy shrunk by2.2% but he said contraction "will probably be far beyond" that figure this year. Last month the French statistics agency INSEE estimated that a month of confinement would cost France about 3 points of GDP over a year, and two months of confinement about 6 points. The minister also called for the creation of a European fund to boost investment after the crisis.

BUSINESS

Saudi Arabia and Russia have postponed a meeting about a deal to cut output as the virus pandemic hits demand. The two countries have been locked in an oil price war for the last month. Saudi Arabia and Russia, who are both major oil producing countries, were scheduled to meet today, but the meeting has now been pushed back to Thursday.

UK department store chain Debenhams has announced that it will file for administration after the coronavirus lockdown forced it to close shops across the UK. The company said that it was taking the step to protect its business, employees, and "other important stakeholders," and will allow Debenhams to resume trading from its stores "when government restrictions are lifted".

Data from the UK Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders has shown a drop in new car registrations of 44.4% in March compared with last year. That amounts to a fall in registrations of about 200,000 vehicles and is a steeper fall than during the financial crisis.

UK Defence firm Babcock has said it will be manufacturing 10,000 ventilators to help deal with the coronavirus crisis. The devices will have to pass stringent medical tests before they can be accepted. Yesterday, Apple said it would start making face shields for medical workers. Chief executive Tim Cook said that the company has designed and making the protective gear. It aims to make more than one million face shields a week.

SPORT

Football... England men's manager Gareth Southgate and women's boss Phil Neville are to take a 30% pay cut as two of the Football Association's highest earning employees. It comes as Premier League players are set to start negotiations on a club-by-club basis over proposed wage cuts after talks aimed at a collective pay deal in response to the coronavirus crisis broke down without resolution over the weekend. The Premier League has proposed a 30% pay cut in players' salaries but the Professional Footballers' Association says that may harm the NHS. The union says that a 30% cut in pay equates to more than £500m in wage reductions over 12 months, and a loss in tax contributions of more than £200m to the UK government.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola's mother has died aged 82 in Barcelona after contracting coronavirus. Manchester City said "Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends." Last month, Guardiola donated 1m euros to help fight the outbreak.

Clubs in Germany's Bundesliga are being allowed to return to team training today. Champions Bayern Munich said their players will train whilst still adhering to measures in place to curb the spread of virus. Football has been suspended in Germany until at least 30 April.

Rugby Union... Wales head coach Wayne Pivac says the summer tour is looking less likely to go ahead, but preparations are continuing. Wales are scheduled to visit New Zealand for two Tests in July after a one-off Test in Japan in June. New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson says that a decision is not imminent despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Golf.... This year's Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament, which was due to take place in July, will now take place next year. It is the first time The Open has been cancelled since the Second World War.

The European Tour has confirmed the postponement of events in Morocco and Stockholm in June. The Trophee Hassan II, scheduled for Rabat from 4 June and the Scandinavian Mixed, from 11 June, will be rescheduled at a later date. The Lalla Meryem Cup on the Ladies European Tour has also been postponed.