Coaches and athletes have been left frustrated by news that their activities must remain sidelined until at least 17 February – despite the risks of Covid-19-transmission previously being ranked equal to that of non-essential shops and marginally lower than hair and beauty salons in ‘Stage 2’.
Retail outlets were originally due to open their doors on Wednesday, under a newly-created Stage 2a, with salons following suit on 3 February, under Stage 2b. However, those plans have now been delayed by at least one week following a spike in cases within the retail-delivery sector earlier this week.
Earlier this month the government’s recovery framework listed outdoor gatherings and sports events as ‘low’ risk, with close-contact services ranked ‘low/medium’ [see page 38 of Tuesday’s JEP].
According to a government statement released on Monday, indoor recreation remains ‘higher risk’ than retail. However, it is understood that private dance and drama classes booked within school halls took place last week. Those booked elsewhere, including parish halls, have yet to resume.
Meanwhile, low-to-moderate-intensity indoor exercise, including swimming, sits at Stage three – ruling out a return for swimming clubs despite schoolchildren already being allowed to enter Island pools as part of their educational timetable.
It is also understood that PE lessons are taking place inside public sports centres.
A spokesperson for the Government of Jersey said: ‘The reopening of services and activities must be carefully considered. While our Covid-19 figures continue to head down thanks to the adherence of the public health measures in place; the risk of transmission remains high, especially while we await the likely confirmation that the UK variant is present on the Island.
‘For this reason, sports and indoor recreation remains within our Stage two of reopening but, by the nature of the activity, remains higher risk than opening retail which has mitigation measures in place to reduce risk.
‘Mitigation measures within sport cannot be implemented without impacting the ability to perform the activity. For example, maintaining physical distance and wearing masks would not be possible.
‘We will continue to monitor our steady easing of restrictions as we move through the stages of opening. It should be noted that the stages outlined do not represent a timescale or order of reopening, rather an assessment of transmission risk.’
Chief Minister John Le Fondré was challenged last week about whether the government was prioritising economic reconnection over measures such as sport that would benefit Islanders’ physical and mental health.
Senator Le Fondré denied this, saying the government was proceeding cautiously and looking to reconnect in the opposite order to restrictions coming into force. Sports fixtures were officially ruled off-limits alongside the closure of non-essential shops and salons on 24 December, when a ten-person limit on outdoor gatherings was enforced. However, the last competitive games to be played before the Christmas holidays – by Island hockey clubs – took place on 19 December.
The Jersey Football Association were among those expressing disappointment at the government’s decisions, with chief executive David Kennedy questioning why fixtures cannot resume now that case numbers are lower than in early-December, when sports gatherings of over ten people were permitted.
