The National Operations Centre for the Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPC) has revealed the details of current total hospital capacity of Covid treatment facilities in Sri Lanka.
No patient from the Miniwangoda cluster has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as yet, the Centre said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health on Tuesday (13) announced that they are in the process of increasing the capacity of treating Covid patients. (NewsWire)
Sue-Ann Siegel works a shift monitoring the Montgomery County Hotline from her home office fielding calls, including from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on March 18, 2020 in Chevy Chase, MD.
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post/Getty Images
President Trump signed a bipartisan bill into law on Saturday that designates 988 as the universal telephone number for the national suicide prevention hotline starting in 2022, according to CNN.
The bill will change the hotline's number to three digits from what is it now, 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).
It also directs health agencies to develop plans to support communities that are at a higher risk for suicide, such as minorities, LGBTQ youth, and people in rural counties.
President Trump signed a bipartisan bill into law on Saturday that designates 988 as the universal telephone number for the national suicide prevention hotline starting in 2022, the White House announced.
The bill will change the hotline's number to three digits from what is it now, 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).
The National Suicide Hotline and Designation Act had previously received approval from the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Federal Communications Commission.
"988 has an echo of the 911 number we all know as an emergency number," Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said last year, according to the BBC. "We believe that this three-digit number dedicated for this purpose will help ease access to crisis services."
The bill requires telephone providers to implement the 988 number and allows states to collect and direct fees towards local crisis centers in anticipation of increased volume.
It also directs government health agencies to develop plans for improving support to communities that are at higher risk for suicide, such as minorities, LGBTQ youth, and people living in rural counties.
Prior to the pandemic, suicide was already a public health concern. In 2018, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the US, according to the CDC. It was the 2nd leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 34, and the 4th for people aged 35 to 54.
Trump responded to the crowd's chant with "lock 'em all up."
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
At a campaign rally in Michigan on Saturday, President Donald Trump criticized Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 restrictions, prompting the crowd to chant "lock her up."
Trump responded to the crowd's chant with "lock 'em all up."
Whitmer responded on Twitter, saying, "This is exactly the rhetoric that has put me, my family, and other government officials' lives in danger while we try to save the lives of our fellow Americans."
At a campaign rally in Michigan on Saturday, President Donald Trump criticized Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions, prompting the crowd to chant "lock her up," less than two weeks after FBI said it foiled a right-wing militia plot to kidnap her.
Trump responded to the chant with "lock 'em all up."
"This is exactly the rhetoric that has put me, my family, and other government officials' lives in danger while we try to save the lives of our fellow Americans," she said. "It needs to stop."
She has faced blowback from the president and other Republican lawmakers for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, armed protesters descended upon the Michigan capitol to oppose the governor's statewide lockdown. At the time, Trump had called on his supporters in a tweet to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN."
Rain says that at 32 years old, she's considered a veteran in the porn industry.
Romi Rain
Romi Rain (not her real name) is a 32-year-old adult film star who lives and works in Southern California.
She started doing nude modeling at the age of 19 before becoming an exotic dancer at a strip club. From there, she began webcamming, and at the age 25, signed with an agency to begin working in adult films.
Since porn isn't a "forever career," Rain says many adult performers find ways to make residual income on the side by uploading content to websites like OnlyFans.
Rain films and edits her own content, which can range from elaborate video shoots to simply live-streaming playing video games on Twitch. During the pandemic, she says she's making at least five figures a month.
This is her story, as told to freelance writer Jenny Powers.
The porn industry isn't regulated, so there was no official shutdown when COVID-19 hit. Filming stopped here in California the third week in March but it was more like a polite suggestion — it's not like we're part of the Screen Actor's Guild or anything. Still, when businesses and restaurants are forced to close their doors, it's probably not the best time to shoot a gang bang.
The average lifespan in the adult film industry for a woman is two to five years.
Anything beyond that and you're considered a veteran, like me. I was 25 when I started doing hardcore porn, which is considered old to first get started, and I'm 32 now.
When I was 19 years old I did some doing freelance nude modeling for a site called Model Mayhem. I loved modeling and dancing so much that I literally woke up one day and went to an audition at a nude club called 4Play in Los Angeles and became an exotic dancer. I credit my early strip club days with learning how important a conversation and setting a mood can be. Personally, I never sat on laps. I always sat next to someone and started a genuine conversation. Then if we wound up in the VIP room, boundaries and respect had long been established.
I was still modeling and dancing when I got hit up to do skits and games for "The Playboy Morning Show," which led to being on the cam site Playboy Live when I was 23, which was so much fun. From there, I did work for Playboy TV, which was technically my first soft porn experience. I started doing solos for a couple of websites and shot a centerfold for Hustler magazine that was released in 2013. By then I was 25, and I contacted a well-known industry agency to start repping me. That's when I began working in adult film, and the rest is history.
I'm very vocal about what I will and won't do at my job.
Some of my nos include being suspended in air or allowing anyone to repeatedly slap me in the face. I also have a list of the only 20-30 guys I'm willing to work with. I'm known as a diva in the industry, but at the end of the day, I'm just protecting myself. The #MeToo movement and social media has given us the ability to say no more often and helped make the industry safer by outing people for their bad behavior.
Rain posing with her poster modeling for Cam4, an adult website.
Romi Rain
I have no regrets getting into the business; it's led me to a better life than I ever expected. I hosted the 2019 AVN Awards, known as the "Oscars of Porn," I have products sold in stores (Fleshlight developed an encased sleeve male sex toy molded directly from my own lady bits, and I get monthly residuals from it), I feature-danced in Italy, and now I have the ability to talk and shake my boobs for profit from home.
Since porn isn't a forever career, content-creation is our safety net.
There's no residual revenue from films unless you've got a stake in the movie, and 95% of us don't. I have to say, cam girls were really ahead of the curve, because content truly is king.
More than anything, this pandemic has proved our worth as content-creators. I run my own 18+ website and I'm a brand ambassador for Cam4. I'm also on Pornhub, OnlyFans, MiniVids, Clips for Sale, and even play video games over live-stream on Twitch. I'm a one-woman show when it comes to content creation: I do my own filming, editing, and uploading. It's an amazing time to interact with people directly, and it's helped humanize us more as performers. My secret weapon as an adult entertainer is my gift of gab. I love chatting and long-winded dirty talk definitely takes a degree of skill and creativity.
People are often surprised to learn that porn is a day job. It's pretty much 9-to-5 work.
Like any other job, what you put in is what you get out, and if you're enjoying yourself too much, you're probably not doing your job to the best of your ability.
As actors, we are responsible to get and pay for a full panel of urine and blood tests every 14 days to ensure we're healthy. It costs $165 each time and insurance doesn't cover it. In most instances, we're also responsible to pay for our wardrobe. A guy can wear the exact same shirt in a dozen scenes, but women need head to toe new everything every scene, so we've got a lot more overhead expenses.
Rain says that female performers have a lot more expenses than males — like nails, hair, makeup, and buying new outfits.
Romi Rain
Before COVID-19, an average workday involved waking up early to shower, shave, and groom. Upon arrival at the shoot house, there's paperwork to complete, then I usually get my makeup done. After, we do still shots known as 'pretty girls' and sex stills with other performers. The sex scenes themselves are highly technical and each position takes between two to five minutes. Afterward, there might be more photos, and then to sign out you hold up your ID verifying your age and legal name on camera, and give verbal consent that you performed at your own free will and were treated fairly.
My longest shoot was eight days for a feature, and a few of those days went into double-digit hours.
Performers are paid a flat rate per scene. Often, though, you're just hired for one scene at a time on a 9-to-5 schedule.
Women are paid a bit more per scene ($700 to $3,000 depending on what the scene requires) but men can work more because there are more females to choose from. It's a tough job physically for a man, but if he can show up on time and control his member, his career could last years longer than the average female, unless he develops a terrible reputation.
I haven't shot any hard-core scene with another person in nearly six months and honestly don't know when I plan to be on someone else's set again. Plus, I've made more money in the past six months shooting content using OnlyFans and webcamming than I did my entire first year shooting set porn nearly five days straight a week.
These days, the hours of the week I work really depends on if I have a project or a financial goal in mind. I could work every day all day, or take several days off. Sometimes it's as easy as just taking a picture on my phone or turning on my webcam. More elaborate, detailed home shoots can take hours to set-up, break down, upload, and edit.
It's good and bad being able to work as much or as little as I want to because some days I feel like I could be doing more, but it's incredibly important to take breaks.
My monthly income is five figures — how high those five figures go really depends on me. I feel like the pandemic makes customers even more eager for content at all hours of the day and night, because they're anxious and bored and want to get their mind off the state of the world.
I'm not sure when, but I have no doubt the porn industry will bounce back. I mean, nearly a quarter of mobile internet searches are for pornographic content. Millions of people consume our content daily, and despite us all being treated like 'she who shall not be named,' people know and like us, that's for sure. I wouldn't have a job otherwise.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Romi Rain was 33 years old instead of 32.
Gabrielle Rivera as Nymphia, the Nautilus Mermaid, near the Golden Gate Bridge,
Brandi Rollins
Gabrielle Rivera is a 25-year-old professional mermaid based in the Bay Area, California.
At the age of 19, a friend introduced Rivera to online community of merfolk, people also interested in mermaids and costuming. From there, her character Nymphia, The Nautilus Mermaid, was born.
Today, Rivera performs as Nymphia everywhere from corporate events and kids' parties, to aquarium and water shows, starting at a rate of $250 for a 90-minute appearance.
Rivera says that as a trans woman, cosplay and working as a mermaid has helped her explore and build up confidence in her femininity.
Here's her story, as told to freelance author Jenny Powers.
For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to the sea. Some of my earliest childhood memories as a little boy are spending time on the San Diego beaches with my mom.
Rivera as a baby during a sea-inspired photo shoot.
Gabrielle Rivera
In high school I began doing cosplay, attending my first event, The San Diego Comic-Con in 2009. I enjoyed sewing and costuming recreationally, so it was a great match for my interests.
Early on, I made my own mermaid fabric costume compete with a swimmable version of Ariel's tail.
I even wound up taking a mermaid class wearing the tail. The class taught us a series of basic swim styles such as the dolphin kick, flips and corkscrew turns.
I also enjoyed taking photographs so, at the age of 19, I combined these interests and took a job as a photo ambassador and wardrobe assistant at SeaWorld. It was 2014, the same year I'd begun doing pencil sketches of a character I'd dreamed up that I'd later call Nymphia, The Nautilus Mermaid.
Soon after, a merman friend of mine introduced me to MerNetwork, a merfolk community, and encouraged me to get involved. It didn't take long for me to get hooked.
In 2016, I headed off to Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles to study fashion design. I ended up leaving after the first semester, returning to SeaWorld as a seasonal employee.
That same year I got my first paid mermaid gig. A friend recommended me for a mermaid meet and greet at The Escondido Renaissance Faire, which was a lot of fun. I wore my Ariel tail, and together we greeted people in a grotto set-up and handed out treasure to the children. That was the day I brought my character Nymphia to life for the first time.
It was my mom who first pointed out that this could be a business for me.
Nymphia wearing her full body tail.
Brandi Rollins
I live with my parents in Oakland and the three of us were regularly meeting in our living room, conducting informal business meetings, and discussing what it would take for me to turn this into a reality. We talked about everything from resources to costuming to budget. With their support, for the first time, I remember thinking becoming a professional entrepre-mermaid might just be an actual possibility.
From there, I joined a local group known as the Ocean Beach Mer Pod, and soon I was doing both paid and volunteer appearances. Two months after my first mermaid gig, I got certified as an Open Water Scuba Diver through PADI. I also commissioned husband and wife duo, Jim and Alicia Ward of See Through Sea, to design a custom silicone mermaid tail which cost $2,700. It weighs 36 pounds, and feels like you're swimming with a dumbbell attached to you. It's made of medical-grade silicone and it feels more like a prosthetic than a costume. I named her Moana.
Silicone tails are a big investment, running between $1,000 to $6,000 depending on the maker. They are mostly handmade by small creators however there are a handful of larger companies like Mertailor which offer mass silicones.
Fabric tails like neoprene are more comfortable, weigh less, are easier to put on, and way more cost-effective ($300-$500) but they're nowhere near as realistic looking.
When it comes to silicone versus fabric, it really comes down to just picking your poison.
It typically takes me between two and a half to three hours to get into full costume.
It can take up to three hours to get fully dressed as Nymphia.
Brandi Rollins
Getting my tail on is a process. I begin by applying a water-based lubricant to my legs so I can slide into it easier. Then I lay down on a yoga mat and put my feet into the monofin, and begin sliding it up the length of my body. It usually takes me half an hour to do and it feels like I'm wearing a giant condom on my body because silicone suctions to your skin.
I'm a makeup geek so that part takes the longest, especially when it comes to the feminine contouring. I wear a lace front wig that I glue to my scalp and use a small army of bobby pins and a crown to anchor it down. One time it came off in the water and all my makeup smeared, but luckily it was during a practice swim.
Cosplay really helped me build up confidence in my femininity, and I feel my most feminine as a mermaid.
I didn't come out to my parents as trans until I was living in Los Angeles in 2017. It was more of a passive kind of talk, but by then I was already using feminine pronouns to refer to myself.
At times, it can be harder to book events as a transgender woman.
People won't admit that's why they don't hire me, but I've heard it through the grapevine. I'm very upfront about being trans. In fact, I recently served as an ambassador and speaker for trans merfolk at the California Mermaid Convention in 2019.
When I do work, I do it all — kids' parties, corporate events, beach visits and meet and greets, and aquarium and water shows. My rate is $250 for a 90-minute appearance on dry land and $275 in the water.
I always have an assistant on hand whose job is to act like my land legs.
Rivera often has her assistant dress up in a pirate costume.
Brandi Rollins
If I'm working near the water, I can just roll into it, but if I'm on dry land, my assistant carries me — which isn't the easiest task, considering I weigh 162 pounds and my tail weighs nearly another 40. Sometimes he tosses me over his shoulder and carries me into an event like the catch of the day. It's also helpful to have him with me in case some drunk guy tries to play let's drown the mermaid. Fortunately, I haven't had any run-ins with that personally, but in my industry, we've all heard the stories.
In addition to my mermaid work, I work as the lifeguard instructor for Bay Club at The Gateway, a private fitness club in San Francisco.
Both my jobs require me to be at my mental and physical best.
This means plenty of sleep (8-10 hours nightly), lots of protein (eggs are my best friend), practice swims, vocal warm-ups, and deep breathing exercises. I can hold my breath underwater in a static position for two minutes and 25 seconds, and my active breath-hold is between 45-75 seconds if I swim really slowly on a good day. Once during a photo shoot, the legendary mermaid model and activist ocean ecology activist, Hannah Fraser, joked I almost killed her underwater photographer because I held my breath for so long.
Since COVID-19, business is a lot slower because no one is hosting events, but I've found ways to branch out. I've begun offering virtual storytime, as well as personalized videos for special occasions or simply to say 'shello' for between $35-50. The pandemic has also provided me with the downtime I needed to create a free YouTube channel for kids storytimes, as well as a podcast called Nymphia: Legend of the Sea.
For me, this is not just a job, it's a lifestyle.
Whatever methods I can use to encourage people to dream big through my work, I use.
It's especially important for me, as a 25-year-old woman of trans identity, to spread the message that anyone can achieve their wildest dreams.
Since the pandemic hit, the US government has fallen woefully short of providing the public with the resources they need to survive this health and economic crisis. Across the country, people are facing cuts to unemployment benefits, mass evictions, and loss of healthcare coverage, but lawmakers continue catering to corrupt industries like predatory payday lenders.
This pandemic has highlighted what isn't working in our economy and political system, and one big problem is payday lenders who turn their profit by preying on those who are most vulnerable at their moment of greatest need. Despite being wildly unpopular, the Wall Street-backed industry continues to thrive because of its ability to exert incredible power over lawmakers.
It's time for our government to stop propping up predatory lenders preying on the most vulnerable, and focus on ensuring everyone has the financial resources they need to survive this crisis.
Short-term predatory lenders most disproportionately target low-income workers, people of color, and women. The lack of banks in largely Black and minority neighborhoods combined with discriminatory credit practices, make it hard for people of color to take out traditional loans or open credit accounts. Payday lenders have seized upon this disparity and are three times more likely to operate in Black neighborhoods than white neighborhoods.
Such lenders advertise their loans as a short-term credit option to be paid off within a few weeks, however, the typical borrower is indebted for five months. The business model of payday lenders is to bait people into short-term loans that they cannot repay with average interest rates as high as 661%.
Our current economic crisis is ripe for the predatory lending industry to sweep in and prey upon vulnerable people who have no other option to access cash, and lawmakers are doing little to stop them. While the pandemic and resulting economic crash have left millions of people in desperate need of financial support to pay bills, healthcare, and rent, payday lenders are using their political influence to increase their profit.
Lawmakers are doing little to stop predatory lenders
The Obama Administration required these lenders to ensure their customers had a proven ability to repay their loans, saving consumers from significant debt, and protecting them from predatory lenders. But these restrictions cost the payday lending industry $7 billion per year, and they have fought hard to eliminate it since Obama was in office.
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revised that crucial rule, freeing predatory lenders to profit as they wish. Now with these restrictions removed in the middle of an economic crisis, the agency that exists to protect consumers is making it easier for predatory lenders to trap families in a cycle of never-ending debt.
The payday lending industry has a known history of buying off politicians to fend off regulation. They are backed by hedge funds and private equity firms that make huge profits from loans that intentionally sink people into endless debt. As a result, payday and other predatory lenders have colossal financial resources to forge powerful political alliances inside Capitol Hill and block anything that threatens the industry's profits.
Open Secrets data shows that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been bought off by the industry. The corruption runs all the way to the top of the Trump administration.
Since the pandemic began, lawmakers have protected the payday lending industry
In April, a group of House Republicans and Democrats asked the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration to open up Paycheck Protection Program loan applications to predatory payday lenders. According to recently released data from The Treasury Department, payday lenders brought in millions of dollars from the PPP program.
This means taxpayer-funded government aid was taken away from small businesses and nonprofits that desperately need it and handed over to an exploitative industry that hands out loans they know people cannot repay. It comes as little surprise that the lawmakers who supported the distribution of PPP loans to predatory lenders are among the top recipients of lobbying money from the payday lending industry.
Lawmakers should be seeking every avenue to protect the most vulnerable, not freeing up an exploitative industry to prey upon those in desperate need of financial support during a crisis. With another stimulus bill being negotiated in Congress, it is imperative that lawmakers include provisions that prevent the payday lending industry from profiting even more.
Payday lenders will continue to exert their influence over lawmakers and prey upon people unless we continue to call out their shady practices and the craven politicians who keep serving their interests.
Though politicians can be bought off and will look the other way, voters know better. In November, Nebraskans have the opportunity to approve a payday lender interest rate cap by ballot initiative, just as Colorado did in 2018. Voters have the power to curb the power of payday lenders, and other states should follow the lead of Nebraska and Colorado.
It's time to eliminate the corrupt influence of Wall Street and the predatory lending industry on our political system. We cannot let these corrupt and predatory practices continue to fly under the radar.
Mirazur's head chef Mauro Colagreco in the restaurant's garden.
Matteo Carassale
Mirazur is a three Michelin-starred restaurant located in the town of Menton, France, that was ranked as the World's Best Restaurant in 2019.
After the restaurant was forced to close in March for the country's 55-day lockdown due to the pandemic, head chef Mauro Colagreco spent time in the restaurant's gardens to develop a new reopening menu, says head sommelier Benoît Huguenin.
Chef Colagreco designed a new menu called Universe Mirazur, featuring meals that focus on four different themes (roots, fruits, flowers, and leaves) and is served to align with the lunar cycle.
The nine-course menu starts at €320, or USD$375, and rotates every three days at most, as does the biodynamic wine list.
In June 2019 at the age of 24, Benoît Huguenin became the head sommelier at Mirazur, crowned the World's Best Restaurant of 2019. He was by Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco's side as Mirazur received the title in a glitzy ceremony in Singapore.
It topped off an incredible year for the restaurant located footsteps from the Italian border in Menton on the French Riviera: Five months earlier it had been awarded its third Michelin star. With it, Colagreco became the first non-French chef in France to receive such an honor.
Mirazur chef Mauro Colagreco (left) and head sommelier Benoît Huguenin (right).
Mauro Colagreco/Matteo Carassale/Business Insider
Fast forward to spring 2020 and the whirlwind four-day trip from the Côte d'Azur to Singapore and back again last summer seemed more like a lifetime ago.
With Mirazur shuttered to the public during France's 55-day COVID-19 lockdown, Huguenin's sole professional responsibility was in its kitchen, one of a team of six who had volunteered to prepare meals for local hospital workers three times a week.
Chef Colagreco spent much of the confinementtending to his gardensthat supply produce to the restaurant.
The time allowed the celebrated chef to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with nature, according to Huguenin. In late April, as the country prepared for the easing of lockdown measures, Colagreco gathered his team to discuss plans for reopening the restaurant. He also shared his observations of the last two months.
"The chef explained that, depending on the moon's cycle, some days the roots are different, as are the flowers, the leaves, and the fruits," Huguenin told Business Insider. "We spoke about this for three or so hours. He joked that maybe we should create a special menu around this."
Mirazur's Chef Mauro Colagreco in the restaurant garden.
Matteo Carassale
Two days later, Colagreco made it official: Mirazur would be opening with a new menu divided into four themes: roots, fruits, flowers, and leaves. Each day's theme would align with the lunar cycle. The intention was to bring the biodynamic principles practiced in the restaurant's gardens into the kitchen, allowing guests to experience what nature intended, when it intended it, as in at a specific point of the lunar cycle. Colagreco calls this concept "Universe Mirazur."
"We worked all day every day for two weeks to imagine and prepare it," Huguenin said. He says the wine list, the (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) cocktails, the mignardises (bite-sized desserts served at the end of the meal), and every detail down to the table decoration were all reimagined.
On flower days, dishes like this Rosace de gamberoni de San Remo (rosace of San Remo prawns) may be on the menu.
Matteo Carassale
"We even changed up the olive oils that accompany the sharing breads, to keep on the same theme. On roots day, for example, we may serve ginger-infused oil. On fruit days, the oil may be infused with mandarin," he continued.
Despite being in the role since 2015, Huguenin feels like he's working in a completely different restaurant.
Huguenin grew up near Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one of France's most famed wine regions in the southeast of the country, where his appreciation for the fine wines made on his doorstep was nurtured by his father. Having decided to pursue a career as a sommelier, a move to the Côte d'Azur and another of the region's decorated restaurants, the now-defunct Paloma in Mougins, followed. He joined Colagreco's then two-Michelin-star establishment when he was 19.
"It's now more complex," Huguenin acknowledged. "For not only us but for the clients, even for the people who work in the gardens."
The nine-course Universe Mirazur menu starts at $320 euros, or USD$375, and is changed every three days at most. With it, the wine list also changes.
Carrots from Mirazur's garden serve as inspiration for root days.
Matteo Carassale
Traditionally, guests have been able to also request a tour of the two gardens closest to the restaurant. (A further two are located two and seven miles away respectively). But, as Colagreco and his team worked to reimagine fine dining in the era of COVID-19, a decision was made to incorporate this alfresco setting into the dining experience.
"When clients arrive now, they are handed a mask and directed into the garden where they are served the aperitif," Huguenin explained. Beautifully plated and presented inside a picnic basket, it is designed to be enjoyed on a blanket carefully laid out at social distanced intervals.
"COVID has put a lot of pressure on everyone," Huguenin said. "We wanted to create this stress-free bubble where our clients can take off their mask and see the water, the beach, and the gardens."
A tomato-based fish dish on fruit days.
Matteo Carassale
Once the aperitif is finished, guests are guided back inside the restaurant where tables have been redistributed between the living room and bar to ensure appropriate distancing while maintaining its 45 covers.
Floor staff wearing Mirazur and Michelin-liveried facemasks greet them (the kitchen team wear masks decorated with smiles — "for a bit of fun," Huguenin said). Having made a commitment to go plastic-free at the start of 2020, paper menus have also been swapped for QR codes and iPads.
Even hand sanitizing hasn't been spared an artistic touch. Colagreco enlisted Stéphane Montalto, a local ceramist and holder of the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France title, to handcraft 16 ceramic bowls. Painted in a turquoise and ivory hue to evoke the color of the Mediterranean Sea at Mirazur's doorstep, each is filled with a touch of alcohol and a blend of ingredients that change to match the theme of the day.
Mirazur's homemade hand sanitizer, coordinated for a flower-themed dinner.
Mirazur
Three months after the restaurant — and its team of 60 — welcomed its first guests back to the dining room, certain rules are still enforced.
"We have an alarm in the back office and in the kitchen that sounds every thirty minutes so that we can all wash our hands at the same time," Huguenin said.
Chef Colagreco and some of his team in smiley masks.
Mirazur
Other rules have been slightly relaxed.
"At first, clients weren't able to go into the kitchen, but now we are more flexible. People can take a photo or greet the back of house team as long as they maintain social distancing," he explained. "We can't refuse clients everything."
Matching a wine menu to the lunar schedule is a fine art.
What pairings has Huguenin imagined up to accompany the four themes of Universe Mirazur? "It's weighted towards white wines," he explained. "For root days, I look to the Languedoc-Roussillon in France or the Alto Adige and Veneto regions in Italy to have more powerful wine like Italo Cescon Madre 2016."
This squid dish is on Mirazur's leaf day menu.
Matteo Carassale
"Flower days I tend more towards the Loire Valley and a Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc, or a Burgundian Chardonnay or Aligoté from Domaine Arnaud Ente for the minerality and freshness.
"Leaf days are better with a wine from the Southern Rhône like Marsanne or Roussanne or a Bordeaux Sémillon for better structure, texture and a smooth taste. Fruit days I match to Provence or a fruity Alsace Riesling from Valentin Zusslin. But of course, it also depends on the plate."
And up to 70% of the wine list is biodynamic, he added.
During the pandemic, the restaurant's clientele has been more local.
Restrictions on international travel have kept much of Mirazur's traditional clientele away.
"Normally the majority of our clients come from overseas; countries like the USA, Japan, and China," Huguenin said. "But this summer the clients have been predominantly French."
In a country that boasts 29 three-Michelin-starred restaurants (only Japan, with the same number, rivals it), this home audience, he added, can sometimes be the biggest critics. "They have very high expectations," he explained.
The exterior or Mirazur.
Mirazur
The restaurant is traditionally booked out months in advance. As international guests have been forced to cancel longstanding bookings, pockets of availability have opened up; however: particularly now the high season months of July and August have passed. Reservations are made via an online booking system that is currently only taking bookings for 2020. As of October 1 until its holiday closure on December 14, Mirazur is open for lunch from Friday to Sunday and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday.
Chrissie McClatchie is a freelance journalist who writes about luxury, lifestyle, and travel with a particular focus on the world of superyachts and stories from the south of France.
