Lunchtime News Monday 21st February 2022

News

Back to school - As school children in our region and Monaco return to class today Monday 21st February, there will an easing on the health protocol. In France masks are no longer being required in the playground, at the canteen the two-metre distance between pupils is no longer obligatory and indoors sports can resume. In Monaco the government specifies that in the event of a positive covid test the pupil concerned must respect a seven-day isolation period and is able to return to class provided that no symptoms have been experienced in a period of 48 hours ahead of returning to the classroom.

The date for the lifting of covid restrictions to be maintained - France’s health minister Olivier Véran has said that the lifting of covid restrictions is maintained for “mid-March” despite the drop in new cases. The minister justified the decision to not bring the date forward due to the number of patients hospitalised which in his view is “still too many”.

Macron obtains meeting over Ukraine crisis -  On Sunday following telephone exchanges between the Elysée and the various parties, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden accepted the principle of a meeting within the framework of a summit, proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Couple die in Storm Franklin - A couple have died in Normandy northern France, after their car was washed away by heavy rains which have hit the region. The 70-year-old couple were found dead in their car on Sunday morning by emergency services. Due to weather conditions, firefighters were unable to locate the vehicle until an hour after the alarm was raised. The north of France has been hit by storm Franklin. A "narrow but intense band of rain", accompanied by strong gusts of wind. 16,000 homes are still without electricity this Monday morning in Hauts-de-France. A return to normal is hoped for this Monday evening. The Hauts-de-France region went from an orange weather warning to yellow for strong winds this Monday morning. Nevertheless, TER traffic remains disrupted this Monday morning and until early afternoon due to storm Franklin.

Weather warning – Meanwhile the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var have been placed on a yellow weather warning with high winds expected this Monday morning. The alert is in place until 4pm this afternoon with gust of up to 70km an hour expected along the coast and 80km an hour inland.

And Finally

A study claims that today is going to be the bleakest day of the year for romance as singletons give up their New Year hopes of finding love. The third Monday of this month, falling this year on February 21, has been shown by new research to be the day when lasting love has finally faded for lovers. This is due to the collapse of relationships following Valentine’s Day disasters or single people feeling lonely after not finding the 'one' before February 14. 

 

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