“We are not in the same position as the United Kingdom”

Tuesday 05 January 2021

Jersey will not be following the UK into a full lockdown, the Chief Minister has confirmed as covid cases dipped below 400 and it was revealed the island was in the top three globally for vaccination.

Following Boris Johnson’s live televised statement announcing a ‘stay at home' order in England last night, Jersey’s Chief Minister stressed minutes later that the island is “not in the same position as the United Kingdom.”

He said that Jersey’s Government would continue to follow the advice of its own medics, who met yesterday and will do so again today to discuss “enhanced measures for the return of schoolchildren to the classroom.”

They will also be examining trend data before advising Ministers on an appropriate time to reopen non-essential retail and contact services (including hair and beauty), which closed on Christmas Eve, and hospitality and gyms, which have been subject to closures since early December.

Pictured: Non-essential shops closed on Christmas Eve.

Senator Le Fondré said that Ministers would also meet this week to “weigh up all the available information”, as well as receiving a “progress update on the vaccination programme, and make sure we continue to reduce overall harm and bear down on the virus.”

Having vaccinated more than 3,000 islanders with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, Jersey currently stands third in the world behind Israel and Bahrain for the number of people vaccinated per 100 people in the population.

The number of individuals officially recorded as currently having covid fell to 389 yesterday – just two weeks after the island hit the grim milestone of 1,000 cases. The latest figures showed 23 with the illness were being treated in hospital and 15 in care homes – a sharp decline in the latter category.

Three individuals were also confirmed as having passed away: two in hospital and one in a care home.

Sadly there have been 3 deaths (1 in a care home, 2 in hospital), our sincere condolences go to family and friends.

Since Sunday 3 Jan, 69 individuals have recovered and 21 new cases have been identified: pic.twitter.com/mf6ffsTwAv

— Government of Jersey (@GovJersey) January 4, 2021

Between Sunday and Monday, 69 individuals recovered and 21 new cases were identified: 10 through planned workforce screening, four through contact tracing, six while individuals were seeking healthcare and one through inbound travel testing.

On the topic of travel, the Chief Minister commented: “We are seeing only a very small number of people come through our borders, and all must isolate for at least 10 days when arriving, given the prevalence in the UK.

“But we will ensure that islanders can continue to travel to the UK for medical treatment, and we won’t leave any islander stranded in the UK following what could be a strict lockdown there.”

Despite signs of optimism, the Chief Minister issued a warning, noting that it was still unclear whether the new, more transmissible variant of covid deemed responsible for rocketing cases in the UK was circulating in the island. Positive tests were sent off for analysis in UK labs in mid-December.

Pictured: The Chief Minister pledged not to leave any islander stranded in the UK, and to ensure islanders could still travel for medical treatment.

“We are seeing a drop in the rate of positive cases in our community, but we must take a cautious approach and must not be complacent. We do not know for certain if the new variant is in the Island; but if we presume it is then we will be in the best place to suppress it if we get that confirmation from the UK labs,” Senator Le Fondré said.

“While fewer people are calling the helpline to report symptoms or seek healthcare, we have increased our workforce testing to test as high a proportion of the Island as is possible. This will give us the best intelligence on the rate of community spread.

“Our goal remains, above all, to protect the health and wellbeing of our whole community. We want to do this while avoiding blanket restrictions like lockdowns, which impact disproportionately on Islanders' mental health, job security and social interaction. This means we need to continue acting responsibly, wear masks in indoor public spaces, ensure good physical distancing and comply with all regulations – including, most importantly, not having household gatherings.”

Strong advice against all indoor mixing of households was issued in late December, with exceptions only being granted for Christmas Day and Boxing Day when islanders were allowed to gather in groups of up to 10.

Pictured: Indoor gatherings were permitted on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

This Friday (8 January) will mark 14 days on from Christmas, with test results providing the first indications of whether the Government’s festive gathering advice prevented widespread covid transmission.

The Chief Minister added that any announcements on changes to the current approach would be made “as soon as possible.”