Reassuring News after Testing and Tracing for Coronavirus at Charles III College
The Principality continues to be an oasis of good health in contrast to the advance of the Coronavirus in many regions of the world. One of the reasons has been its comprehensive program of testing offered to all 40.000 or so residents and roughly an equal number of employees who regularly commute into Monaco. About 90.000 people are covered under the program that is a security blanket underpinning a “good health first” approach to life in the Principality. So when the relatively rare positive case is detected a rigorous contact tracing and testing regimen is implemented.
As a reminder, on the 2nd of July, a young resident from the Principality who is a Year 7 pupil at Charles III College tested positive for Covid-19, after being infected by a family member who had returned from travelling outside Europe. In accordance with the health protocols followed by the Monegasque authorities, to ensure that there was no transmission to the pupil’s classmates and teachers, a doctor from the Department of Health Affairs offered them PCR testing. A total of five teachers and eleven classmates were tested.
The results of tests conducted on the Year 7 (6ème) pupils at Collège Charles III who came into close contact with this young resident have all come back negative.
The two teachers resident in Monaco and one teacher resident in France who had contact with the pupil have also tested negative. Currently, two teachers who are resident in France and being monitored by the Office of Occupational Medicine are awaiting their results.
Following an epidemiological survey, which revealed that the pupil had played basketball in Cap d’Ail, his teammates were also tested. Good news – all of the basketball team members living in Monaco tested negative. Those who live in France are being managed by the PACA Regional Health Agency.
