A SPECIALIST long-Covid clinic is to open on Monday as new research shows which Islanders are most likely to be struck by the debilitating illness.
Cases of long Covid have risen by 246% in the past six months, with those working in the healthcare, education and finance sectors most likely to suffer from it, a leading specialist has said.
Next week, Jersey moves to the next stage of de-escalation, under which contact-tracing for schoolchildren will be replaced with recommended daily lateral-flow tests, and the Safer Travel Policy will be suspended.
Dr Matt Doyle, who will spearhead the new clinic at the Hospital, said that long Covid was most likely to affect those aged from their mid-30s to late-60s.
More than 350 Islanders have been seen by GPs after experiencing Covid symptoms more than four weeks after being infected. On 2 August, the figure was 101. Around 150 of the current total affected still had symptoms 12 weeks after initially testing positive.
Dr Doyle said the new clinic would take referrals from GPs and provide bespoke treatment for those affected.
He added: ‘We’ll be talking to people as individuals and finding out how they have been affected before deciding on the best course of treatment. There won’t be a “onesize-fits-all” approach.
‘Long Covid involves a number of different elements, including respiratory symptoms, heart issues, fatigue, brain-fog and longer-term loss of taste or smell.’
Dr Doyle said analysis had shown that those most likely to suffer from long Covid were aged from their mid-30s to late-60s and working in healthcare, education or finance. The chances were higher, he added, for those who had been hospitalised as a result of the virus.
Although it was not known why people in certain professions and age brackets were more susceptible, Dr Doyle said medical professionals were gaining a growing insight into the longer-term effects of the virus.
He added: ‘This is an ever-evolving area, as more and more health services across the world recognise long Covid as a condition. It will be a joined-up service, with specialists from different disciplines contributing to the clinic.’
Anyone experiencing symptoms of long Covid is recommended to contact their GP in the first instance.
Following the announcement by ministers on 28 January that the Island would begin to de-escalate Covid-19 policies, a new approach is to begin in education on Monday. School-led contact-tracing will end and all schoolchildren, as well as those who attend pre-school and colleges, are recommended to take an LFT every day before leaving home.
Those who test positive are legally required to isolate and should book a PCR test, as well as recording the positive LFT result on the government website. There is a minimum statutory isolation period of five full days for over-12s who have been fully vaccinated and anyone under 12.
Over-12s who have not received two vaccines must isolate for seven full days. Dr Ivan Muscat, deputy medical officer of health, said the move would effectively detect positive cases.
He said: ‘Taking an LFT before leaving home is more likely to result in identifying Covid-19 in students and staff, rather than one-off PCR tests. This change will also mean the faster detection of positive cases and replaces the need for contact-tracing because of ongoing universal screening.’
A letter from Dr Muscat, including a renewed appeal about the benefits of vaccination, was sent through schools to all parents yesterday.
Schools have suffered significant levels of disruption during the first month of the spring term, with around 2,000 positive cases among pupils and staff during the past fortnight, and some schools having to close to certain year groups and classes.
The Safer Travel Policy, introduced on 2 July 2020 following the reopening of the Island’s borders, will be suspended at one minute past midnight on Monday morning. All testing and isolation requirements for arriving passengers will be removed and there will be no need to complete pre-departure travel forms.
A government spokesperson said that anyone travelling out of the Island should continue to check the travel requirements of the country they were visiting, adding that there were options to access Covid Status Certificates and QR codes demonstrating vaccination status through the covidsafe.gov.je site.
Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham said the changes would benefit families who were planning to travel over the halfterm holiday later this month, as well as students returning home from university
