Critical workers travelling to Jersey, whose employers apply to exempt them from the usual isolation requirements, will soon have to meet new testing requirements. From 11 February, following advice from the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control, such workers will have to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, conducted up to 72 hours before their arrival.
This is an extra requirement. Workers will still be tested on Days 0, 5 and 10, and may not attend work until they have received a negative Day 0 test result. Workers can only leave isolation to go to work, and must isolate at all other times, until they receive a negative Day 10 test result.
The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, said: “Following advice from Dr Ivan Muscat, we have decided that critical workers applying to work in Jersey must provide evidence of a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours of their arrival in Jersey. This applies in all except emergency or extremely urgent circumstances.
“This advice is based on the increased rates of infection in the UK and France, the risks posed by emerging COVID-19 variants and the fact that critical workers follow a different set of isolation requirements from those followed by most arrivals.
“This additional measure is intended to strengthen the Island’s public health controls at the border, while also allowing essential services and businesses to carry on operating safely.
“Employers, including Government, must also outline the risk mitigations they have implemented in the workplace when they apply for this exemption. Since the beginning of 2021 around 40 workers per week have been granted such permissions. Many of these permissions are for the same individuals whose work lasts longer than a week.”
The new requirement will apply to workers arriving after 11 February, to allow time for employers to arrange the testing.
Government of Jersey News Release.