Chief Minister John Le Fondré said that in light of the lockdown in the UK, which will be similar to the one at the start of the pandemic with schools closed and people told to stay at home, Jersey’s government would be ensuring that Islanders could continue to travel to the UK for medical treatment.
He also said no Islanders would be left stranded in the UK.
And while he said there had been a decrease in active cases locally, he urged people not to be complacent.
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell is due to meet again on Tuesday to discuss the proposed return of schools next week and other policy options, including when non-essential shops may be able to reopen along with hospitality, indoor recreation, gyms and services such as the hair and beauty industry.
‘I wish to assure Islanders that we are not in the same position as the United Kingdom,’ he said.
‘The Competent Authority Ministers will meet later this week to weigh up all the available information; receive a progress update on the vaccination programme; and make sure we continue to reduce overall harm and bear down on the virus.
‘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.
‘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.’
He added: ‘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.
‘We will make any announcements on changes to our current approach as soon as possible. In the meantime, I want to thank Islanders for their ongoing resolve.’
