NO further Covid restrictions are likely to be introduced before Christmas and ministers have agreed to scrap strict new isolation rules for direct contacts of positive cases of the Omicron variant.
The requirement for ten days’ isolation for direct contacts was set out by the government last Thursday, but ended yesterday after ministers considered the latest advice from scientific experts.
And the JEP understands that no further Covid restrictions are likely to be announced in Jersey this side of Christmas.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday that strict limits on large gatherings would be introduced from 26 December. Edinburgh’s traditional Hogmanay party on New Year’s Eve will be cancelled, with sporting fixtures subject to a maximum of 500 spectators and hospitality venues required – from 27 December – to bring back table service.
The Welsh government had already stated that nightclubs would not be permitted to open after Boxing Day, and yesterday it was confirmed that post-Christmas sports fixtures would have to be staged behind closed doors.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that he could not rule out further restrictions prior to Christmas, but that no firm decision had been reached. Some UK media outlets reported that a two-week ‘circuit-breaker’ in England, starting on 28 December, was being considered.
Jersey’s government first flagged up the ten-day isolation requirements for direct Omicron contacts on 26 November.
There was no mention of the rule when Chief Minister John Le Fondré addressed the States Assembly, but it was confirmed in a government briefing last Thursday when it was also revealed that the first cases of Omicron had been identified in the Island. Currently 15 positive Omicron cases have been identified in Jersey after sequencing in a UK lab. Not all positive PCR samples are sent off for sequencing and it takes approximately three days for a positive PCR sample to be sent to a UK lab and get a sequencing result back.
With cases of the highly infectious variant climbing sharply in the UK, business leaders and other Islanders said they were worried that large numbers of people might have to spend Christmas in isolation.
Signs that the government was reconsidering the direct-contact rule were evident on Friday, when Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham wrote to groups including the Jersey Hospitality Association and the Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
As part of the announcement regarding direct contacts, a government spokesperson said those currently in isolation as a result of the previous policy were being contacted and told they could leave quarantine immediately.
The spokesperson added that the ten-day isolation period had been intended as a short-term measure to slow the spread of the variant across the Island, but that Public Health officials had now ruled that the evidence no longer supported this policy and so recommended the change.
Deputy medical officer of health Dr Ivan Muscat said: ‘Getting vaccinated is the most important and potent tool at our disposal. Getting a booster as soon as you are eligible to do so is the most important action an individual can take. The current evidence is that the booster is 70 to 75% effective against infection from Omicron, and it is also very effective against Delta.’
Further measures will come into force in the Island from 4 January, including a legal requirement for mask wearing in designated settings and the return of work-from-home guidance. From the same date, arriving passengers will need to have received a booster dose of Covid vaccine in order to avoid the need for testing on arrival and isolation until a negative test result.
Meanwhile, following a strong uptake in a government-funded lateral-flow test programme, officials have begun a tender process for 1,125,000 more cartridges.
On the government tender website it says: ‘On Jersey, the programme of Covid self-testing using LFTs is already well established and is scheduled to continue into 2022. However, in order to ensure continuity of service, the Government of Jersey is seeking to supplement the current stock holding with the supply of additional LFTs to be delivered during the period 01 January 2022 to 31 March 2022.’
It adds that the government is seeking offers only from companies in the UK.
