Three deaths in third wave of covid

Wednesday 04 August 2021

A third person has died in Jersey after testing positive for covid in the third wave.

The individual was in their 60s and passed away at the hospital, according to statistics released by the Government, which shared its "sincere condolences" with friends and family this evening.

It brings the total number of covid-linked deaths in Jersey since the beginning of the pandemic to 72.

One islander over the age of 90 passed away in the community over the weekend after contracting the virus, while 47-year-old James Keating died in hospital last month. While the latter's death took place in mid-July, it was only officially recorded this week.

1,057 people in total have tested positive for covid-19 and remain 'active cases', with 56 new cases picked up in the past 24 hours.

Pictured: The latest covid data. (GoJ)

Of those, 30 people were unwell and seeking healthcare, 14 were travellers, eight tested positive in planned workforce screening, three were picked up in cohort screening and one tested positive on admission to a health setting.

Eight people are in hospital with the virus and 12 are in care homes.

While case numbers slightly bounced up today, the island's figures are on an overall downward trend. There was a significant drop in case numbers on Monday - down by 1,500 - partially due to a change in how recoveries are classified.

The Government explained at the time: “A covid-positive person with no symptoms is deemed recovered once they have completed the required isolation period [of 10 days]. Those with symptoms need to complete the required isolation period and be free of symptoms for 48 hours.”

The last estimate of Jersey’s ‘R’ number – how many people someone with the virus passes it on to – was given on 18 July. It showed that each person with covid was passing it on to one or two others.

Statisticians said they have been unable to calculate the R number since then due to “sharp changes in Jersey’s testing effort”.