Senator John Le Fondré said the progress of the Island’s vaccination programme meant that ‘we are starting to move towards living with Covid’.
Ministers have announced major changes to isolation policy which meant thousands were released from quarantining on Sunday. The changes mean that people identified as direct contacts do not have to isolate if they are not displaying symptoms and provided that they take part in the testing programme.
The Chief Minister admitted that case numbers were likely to rise and that there were ‘probably going to be at best a similar number to what we had in December’ when the number of known active cases topped 1,000. The number of known active cases as of yesterday afternoon was 572.
He said: ‘In December, hospitalisations were about 25 but the hospitalisation rate is significantly less than that second wave. One of the key principles has been ensuring health services were not overwhelmed and that is not happening.’
‘From the data we are seeing in the UK – and our vaccinations levels are tied into that – they are seeing a significant risk yet the data that they are producing is showing vaccination is being highly effective.’
He admitted that the easing of isolation rules might be ‘unnerving’ for some.
‘For vulnerable people they can apply measures to their own risks. Equally, the more people, even now, that we get fully vaccinated the harder it is for the virus to get transferred. That will protect those who are more nervous.
‘We have always talked about suppressing – we cannot eliminate it. We are therefore shifting to treating it like other diseases that come through the community. We are moving towards that new normal of living with it.’
The policy changes were announced following a weekend during which technical glitches with the track-and-trace system left large numbers of Islanders waiting for tests and results.
The Chief Minister admitted that, while the lifting of isolation requirements was likely to happen sooner rather than later, the numbers of people being left in limbo as a result of the problems had ‘accelerated’ ministers’ thinking.
Senator Le Fondré said: ‘We had a couple of issues and we fully accept there was some technical glitches. One was in the software that reports the results of testing.
‘That added to people’s frustrations.
‘We felt it [the changes to isolation policy] was appropriate and it does indicate that sometimes circumstances can accelerate quite swiftly and we have responded swiftly.
‘Our fundamental concern is with Islanders. We had more than 3,000 people who were direct contacts and the consequences were starting to come through from that.’
The final lifting of Jersey’s restrictions is due to take place on Thursday 15 July when stand-up drinking and large events are allowed and limits on gatherings in people’s homes are lifted.
