By yesterday the number of completed tests stood at 10,093 – a significant rise on this day last month when 5,954 people had been tested, with 307 returning positive results.
The increase in screening has been made possible by the expansion of the Island’s PCR testing facilities, with the introduction of a double-lane-drive-through testing centre near the Airport.
This is in addition to the serology testing, which detects whether an individual has previously had the disease and therefore has antibodies which may provide a level of immunity.
People are currently being tested if they develop symptoms and seek healthcare, if they are admitted to a care home or hospital, and as part of the essential workforce and Airport arrivals screening and contact-tracing programme.
There are currently five people in Jersey known to have coronavirus, none of whom have any symptoms.
Anyone who arrives in Jersey on a Blue Islands essential travel flight or medical flight can choose to participate in the border-testing trial, as an alternative to self-isolating for 14 days on arrival in the Island. To date, more than 90% of passengers have opted to take part in this trial – with no one testing positive.
Health Minister Richard Renouf said: ‘It is universally accepted that testing is a crucial part of combatting the spread of Covid-19, and in Jersey we can test up to 500 people per day. We are focusing on identifying as many positive cases as possible, especially in those who have no symptoms.
‘We have established a professional contact-tracing team, so when we isolate each case, we use contact-tracing to find any others.
‘This is how we have kept our cases to a very low level and it means we are prepared to tackle any new clusters of the virus.’
