Ministers scrap majority of covid restrictions

Wednesday 11 August 2021

Nightclubs can reopen, large events can go ahead, there will no longer be a recommendation to work from home, and masks will no longer have to be worn from Thursday 26 August.

At a media briefing this afternoon, Ministers have announced the removal of most of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions, from a fortnight tomorrow.

From that day:

• people can be served alcoholic drinks from the bar;
• the 20-person limit on gatherings in homes and gardens is lifted;
• nightclubs can fully reopen, with dancing allowed;
• large events can be held, subject to risk assessments;
• the legal requirement to wear a mask in indoor public places ends, except in ports and on public transport;
• the recommendation that islanders work from home if they can, ceases. 

However, the legal requirement to provide contact details for track and trace purposes remains.

Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said: “I am pleased we can now open up our island community to the next stage of reconnection, which will provide the welcome return of Islanders’ freedoms. It has been a difficult year, and I hope this will ease the situation for those businesses which have been most severely affected by the prolonged restrictions.

“We have been pursuing a robust suppression strategy, using measures including mask-wearing, working from home, and physical distancing to bring down infection rates. But this came at a cost to our liberty and our way of life. 

“Now we are moving into a mitigation phase, which marks a distinct change in the way our Island will deal with the pandemic. 80% of the adult population is fully vaccinated, and we can return to Islanders the freedoms they have missed.

“We will maintain a robust test, trace and isolate system to help control the spread of infection. For now, food and drink premises will still be required, by law, to collect customers’ contact details and we will be speaking to businesses about how we can work with sensible guidelines in bars, nightclubs and large events. 

“We will continue to strongly encourage Islanders to be vaccinated, and we are currently working on measures to minimise disruption in schools when they return in September.”