The Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, will announce further measures to protect Islanders at a press conference at 1100 on Wednesday 23RD December. This is part of Jersey’s continued response to the second wave of COVID-19 this winter.
Following advice from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC) and a sitting of the Emergencies Council, the Government will announce a set of further restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Jersey and protect the most high-risk Islanders in advance of the vaccine roll out.
The COVID-19 Winter Strategy includes options for an escalation of numerous measures to avoid a blanket lockdown scenario and Ministers have been advised, with new positive cases numbers still fluctuating, to use these options to flatten Jersey’s current curve of infection.
The measures being announced tomorrow are:
Restrictions to gatherings
Further restricting gathering by tightening the current Gatherings Order. This will mean the ‘rule of ten’ will be extended to outdoors and a specific number of exemptions for controlled events will be reduced to include places of worship, weddings and civil partnerships, funerals, and after-school clubs.
Closure of non-essential retail
The closure of non-essential retail, close contact services and indoor recreation centres, in addition to all those outlets already closed. This will further affect clothing, furniture, gift, betting and bookshops; hair, beauty, and tattoo salons; indoor amusements, visitor, and heritage attractions.
Exemptions are:
- health services such as chiropody or dentistry etc.
- take away services from restaurants and cafés
- supermarkets / corner stores / off-licences / indoor markets
- banks
- pharmacies and chemists
- pet shops
- laundry services
- garden centres / DIY / hardware & building supplies
- post offices / newsagents
- petrol stations
- vehicle sales and repair
- IT and mobile phone sales / services and repairs
This will come into force from 18:00 on 24th December 2020
Passengers transiting through the UK
Anyone arriving to Jersey via the UK will now be classified as ‘red’ and will need to be tested three times and stay in isolation until their day 10 negative.
Previously, if a journey to Jersey included a transit stop in another country or region, passengers needed to follow the classification requirements for that jurisdiction only if they stayed there overnight. This will be kept under daily review until 11th January 2021.
Government of Jersey News Release.