Ministers said yesterday that they were awaiting further medical analysis prior to an announcement – expected to be on Monday – confirming the next phase of the lifting of some lockdown measures.
In a press conference yesterday ahead of Liberation Day, Chief Minister John Le Fondré said: ‘Saturday is a significant anniversary for the Island. It is our national day and, for those who were alive during the Occupation, it will be particularly profound.
‘This is not the way that we hoped to be celebrating. And we are having to find new ways to engage as a community, while facing unfamiliar restrictions on our freedoms.
‘During the Occupation, Islanders were denied every freedom that they normally enjoyed… by miles of reinforced concrete… tens of thousands of mines… and thousands of occupying troops.
‘But what I know is that Islanders never lost hope in their eventual liberation.
‘The crisis currently facing our island, and the world at large, does not compare to the suffering endured by those under Occupation seventy-five years ago.
‘But that doesn’t make our present position any easier. Families are separated, businesses are under financial strain, and Islanders are worried about the health of loved ones.
‘We too must not lose hope. The challenges we face will end. Everyone has played their part, and I want to ask you now to continue playing your part to suppress the spread of COVID-19 over the coming weeks and months.’
As well as emphasising that nothing had yet changed since an initial relaxation of lockdown a week ago, the Chief Minister urged those taking part in Liberation celebrations to behave responsibly.
Senator Le Fondré also made a renewed pledge about Covid-19 testing, saying that swab tests would be increased to a level of around 500 per day next week. He revealed that results of the antibody tests for a sample of more than 350 Islanders were expected to be announced today, giving an indication of how many people may already have had the virus and may have acquired immunity.
Health Minister Richard Renouf admitted he was concerned to hear that some test results were taking up to six days to be processed, but also offered hope to Islanders suffering discomfort or pain as the result of scheduled, but non-urgent, operations being cancelled over the past two months.
‘There is a plan to reinstate as many services as we can – this is being finalised,’ he said. Medical director Patrick Armstrong said that he ‘couldn’t wait’ to return to his role as a surgeon, as he knew that people were suffering as a result of the impact of the pandemic on business as usual at the General Hospital.
As staff training and installation of equipment at the new Nightingale Hospital continues prior to the official opening on Monday, the Health Minister was asked about usage levels in the light of similar facilities in the UK being mothballed this week as a result of low patient levels.
‘The Nightingale Hospital will be used,’ he said. ‘Whether it will be used to the extent that it is bulging at the seams I don’t know – none of us know. It will depend on people continuing to observe the measures that are in place.’
Deputy Renouf said that a gradual exit from lockdown was the right thing to do.
‘We can’t forever stay in lockdown. It would cause more problems in terms of the impact on mental health and wellbeing, so we have to make carefully calibrated moves towards some degree of normality,’ he said.
The move from the current ‘level four’ status to the less restricted level three depends on medical analysis, which has shown a reduced impact of Covid-19, with only seven positive cases and two deaths recorded during the past week, taking the current totals to 293 and 25 respectively.
Senator Le Fondré said: ‘There needs to be a balance struck that takes account of data which seems to show that the curve is flattening, but also of the wider issues about maintaining lockdown. We will not be seeing the end of all restrictions – that is when you could start to lose control – but we will ease them where we can.’
The Chief Minister hailed the ‘incredible determination to protect one another’ of Islanders and stressed that physical distancing and good hygiene measures would remain imperative throughout the next stage of Jersey’s response.
