COVID-19 pandemic in Jersey


The COVID-19 pandemic in the Bailiwick of Jersey is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case in Jersey was confirmed on 10 March 2020 when a person tested positive on the island after returning from Italy.
The Government of Jersey's strategy has been to delay the spread of the virus, avoid vulnerable people from catching it, help the island's health service cope with the number of people requiring hospital care and to save as many lives as possible. It acknowledged that many islanders would become infected, and has sought to ensure that the best possible medical care is available to them.

Background

A new coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in late December 2019 as the cause of a cluster of cases of an acute respiratory disease now referred to as coronavirus disease 2019. As of 31 March 2020, more than 190 countries and territories have been affected, with major outbreaks in China, Italy, South Korea and Iran. On 11 March, the World Health Organization characterised the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic.

Timeline

The first death from COVID-19 was on 25 March. The person was aged in their 80s, had long-term health conditions and had been receiving palliative care before contracting COVID-19. On 29 March a second person died. They were in their 70's and had long-term health conditions before contracting the virus. On 4 April, a third death was announced - a patient in their late 60s who had underlying health conditions.
On 14 April the number of people that have died either under the care of Health & Community Services or in the community where the death certificate mentions COVID-19 increased to six.
On 27 April the Chief Minister revealed that nine of those that had died had done so at the General Hospital, two at St Saviour's Hospital, seven in care homes and the other in their own home. Most were aged in their 70s, 80s or 90s.
By 12 May deaths totalled 26, with 13 in hospital and 13 in the community of which 12 were in care homes. Three were between 50 and 70 years of age and seven were over 90. 38% female, 62% male. On 20 May, the active cases had reduced to 21, of which two were in hospital. Deaths had increased to 29.
During the period 1 January to 7 June 2020 the number of registered deaths from all causes was 303, which was lower than in the same period in the years 2018 and 2019.

Response by the Government of Jersey

Overview of response

On 19 February, a helpline was set up to answer islanders' questions about Coronavirus. It is manned by staff from Customer & Local Services, Health and Community Services and Environmental Health. It handles on average 550 calls per day.
On 12 March, the advice from Senator John Fondré, Chief Minister of Jersey was to maintain a semblance of normal life, including continuing to go on holidays off-island, but by 14 March his advice changed, requesting over-65s to start social distancing, and on 20 March he extended this advice to islanders of all ages. Islanders must avoid non-essential travel.
From 20 March, all travellers arriving on the island, other than essential workers, were required to self-isolate for 14 days. From midnight on 26 March those aged over 65 and people with certain underlying medical conditions were required to self-isolate. On 28 March, islanders were told that if one or more people in a household develop COVID-19 symptoms then all the other members of the household must also self-isolate for 14 days.
On 26 March, the Chief Minister called for young people to heed the social distancing advice for the sake of their family members, and bemoaned the spread of unhelpful rumours by conspiracy theorists over social media.

Lockdown

On the evening of 29 March, the Chief Minister announced a lockdown, effective from 8 am the following morning. Islanders were required to stay at home other than for short periods for specific purposes unless they are employed in an essential function. On 24 April the initial lockdown was extended. until at least 11 May.
The States Assembly passed new legislation, including a law to empower the police to remove people from public areas, enforce self-isolation, testing and screening, and detain those who are potentially infected.
The Chief Minister had said that antibody testing would be key to the ending of the lockdown with 10,000 kits arriving in Jersey in mid April, which were being tested, with a further 150,000 on order from a different supplier.
Informal Governmental discussions on a plan for removing restrictions began in mid-April with the intention to enter formal discussions by the end of the month.

Testing

Initially tests were sent to Colindale in London for processing, with results taking between 48 hours and five days. In March arrangements were being made to establish a test facility on island, and this was expected to be ready as soon as the end of April 2020. Five thousand test kits were ordered.
On 15 March a testing centre was opened at Five Oaks.
On 2 April the government announced that the 5,000 COVID-19 PCR tests that it had ordered were being supplied by Cepheid Inc in California and two other companies. 150,000 serology tests have been ordered from a UK supplier. The serology tests will identify antibodies in people who have developed immunity. They are due to arrive in batches with the first batch expected in April. They intend to test all households in order to enable a phased 'managed exit from the stay home restrictions'. Islanders will be asked to attend mobile testing centres around the island.
As of 1:20pm on 4 April there had been 1,451 tests, of which 126 were confirmed positive and 209 are awaiting results. Three people have died as a result of COVID-19.
On-island testing commenced on 8 April, with the intention that laboratory staff will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to be able to process same-day results. The Pathology Manager said "Around 20 biomedical scientists and laboratory support staff have been trained to perform ." Initially the lab was processing 75 tests a day, increasing to 120 a day from 15 April.
By 10 May the results of the antibody testing indicated that only a small proportion of the population had been infected to date. Preliminary indications of 3.1% ±1.3% with a sample of 855 people.
On 26 May the States began offering free 15 minute blood tests to anyone who had worked away from home, to test for antibodies.
The results of a second States of Jersey antibody testing report indicates around 4.2% of the population had contracted COVID-19 based on over 1,000 random tests conducted, with 62% of positive results stating they had not noticed any symptoms. A report by Orchid Care Services, based on 1,146 tests indicated 11% of those taking the test had COVID-19 anti-bodies in their blood.
The testing equipment on the island is only being used when a result is needed urgently, such as when a patient is being admitted to hospital or discharged to a care home. Less urgent tests are sent to the a private lab at the University of Warwick Science Park in Coventry, with results normally received within 24 hours. This is because of a worldwide shortage of filters used in the testing machine. In August, the hospital is due to set up a self-contained lab capable of testing 1,000 to 1,500 people per day. This will be important as part of preparation for a second wave.

Commercial testing

A healthcare provider in Jersey, Orchid Care Services announced it would provide onsite COVID-19 IgG/ IgM Rapid Tests supplied by Californian company CTK Biotech, which have been approved by the Australian Government and had been used to test their own employees. The States of Jersey advised extreme caution in their use and would be unlikely to accept data obtained from their use. The facility opened on Friday 15 May and was shut down on 30 June after carrying out over 1,400 tests. The company said it would continue to provide a testing service to businesses who want to screen their staff.
A law to regulate private testing facilities came into force on 15 July 2020.

Financial support

On 12 March, the Minister for Economic Development announced deferred social security and GST payments, and deferred rent for businesses where the government was the landlord. On 20 March, he announced that government would pay a subsidy of up to £200 a week to workers in the hospitality, retail, wholesale and agriculture and fisheries industries until the end of April. He announced an enhanced phase 2 package of support on 26 March, using the island's strategic reserve - the so-called 'rainy day fund' - to pay up to 80% of the wages of affected staff in certain industries, capped at £1,600 a month.
The payroll co-funding system was extended on 1 June to run to the end of August 2020. Phase 1 covered March and cost around £2m, Phase 2 around £20m.
On 10 July it was announced a number of measures including direct payments to low income households, every adult and child in Jersey would be given £100 in vouchers to spend locally and to help employment a reductions in social security contributions and a fiscal spending programme to help local businesses.

Healthcare

Jersey has its own health service, separate to the NHS. Its Health & Community Services department has developed its own response to the virus, having planned for a possible pandemic since at least 2014.
On 19 March, the Minister for Health and Community Services announced that the General Hospital would be closed to visitors.
On 20 March government announced that non-essential operations and outpatient appointments would be cancelled for a four-week period.
On 30 March the Chief Minister stated that ten patients were being cared for at the General Hospital, and that the island has 27 ventilators. The island does not have its own extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine - patients needing one would normally be transferred to Southampton General Hospital. People who have worked in the health sector such as dentists and pharmacists were asked to volunteer to support the health service.
17 residents at an unnamed care home are being treated for the virus.
Military helicopters based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall are on standby to transport critically ill patients from Jersey to intensive care facilities at hospitals in the UK if necessary. They could also be used to fly in medicines, equipment and specialist doctors.

Nightingale hospital

On 9 April the Government announced that a field hospital would be built on a playing field at Millbrook. The so-called Nightingale hospital was expected to cost £14.4m and to take less than a month to build. It would be 150m long and 30m wide, containing six wards of 30 beds each, but could be expanded to contain up to 240 beds. The field belongs to the family of Lord Trent. The contractor building the site, J3 Limited, is a joint venture between Sir Robert McAlpine, Garenne Construction Group and FES Group. It was involved in building Nightingale hospitals in Glasgow and Manchester.
On 4 May the construction was completed and the building passed to the control the Health and Community Services department. On 11 May the hospital was opened by the Earl and Countess of Wessex via video link. The Nightingale hospital wing remains unused.

Criticism

The Government of Jersey has been criticised for inadequate communication and for initially not releasing certain statistics citing data protection reasons. Jersey's introduction of on-island testing was slower than neighbouring Guernsey. In common with most other jurisdictions Jersey suffered from shortages in personal protective equipment. The media also criticised the lack of a published plan for exiting lockdown.

Impact

Education and childcare

On 18 March, it was announced that all schools and colleges would close for at least four weeks starting from 23 March.
People deemed to work in essential roles are able to apply for their children to attend school or child care so that they can continue to perform their roles.

Closures and shutdowns

On 17 March, Cineworld announced the closure of the only cinema on the island.
On 22 March, ministers announced that pubs, bars and nightclubs should close.
On 23 March, government announced that its sports centres would close, and Jersey Zoo announced that it would be closed from 24 March until further notice.

Event cancellations

On 10 March the Lions Club announced that its Swimarathon, a charity fund raising swimming event due to have over 3,500 participants would not take place in 2020.
On 18 March, organisers of the 75th Liberation Day celebrations announced that they would be scaled back. The parish of Saint Helier later announced that they would be holding a series of online events on Liberation Day.
On 26 March the organisers of the Jersey Battle of Flowers announced that the event, which was next due to take place in August 2020, would be cancelled for the first time in 70 years.
On 28 March the organisers of the 2020 TMF Island Walk announced that the annual sponsored round-the-island walk due to take place on 20 June would be postponed until later in the summer or may not take place. The event usually attracts 1,500 walkers.
The 2020 edition of the Siam Cup — the annual rugby contest between Guernsey and Jersey and the second-oldest rugby trophy in existence — would be played in May 2021. The Muratti Vase, the inter-island football competition, was also postponed.

Consumer response

In late February, stocks of hand sanitiser were running low, and in early March, Jersey supermarkets reported unprecedented demand for certain items such as toilet roll. Some retailers introduced restrictions to prevent people from stockpiling.

Travel

On 3 March, France and Germany were added to the list of countries from which travellers would need to self-isolate for 14 days.
On 5 March, the airline Flybe which had been founded in Jersey and serviced the most air routes from the island went into administration, citing Coronavirus as part of the reason for its collapse.
On 11 March, Channel Islands airline Blue Islands announced that flights between Jersey and London City Airport would be cancelled temporarily.
On 13 March, Condor Ferries announced that the Commodore Clipper would not carry passengers for a month in order to ensure the continuity of its freight service using the ship. On 17 March, it announced that sailings to and from Saint-Malo would be suspended from 24 March to at least 2 April. The company subsequently announced that it would cancel all passenger sailings from 27 March until at least 30 April. This was later extended to 14 May and again until 12 June.
On 20 March, Blue Islands announced that flights between Jersey and Guernsey would be suspended.
On 26 March, the island's bus operator LibertyBus announced a reduced timetable from 28 March.
On 28 March, Jersey Airport announced that British Airways flights between Gatwick and Jersey will be suspended from 31 March until the end of April.
On 30 March, EasyJet announced that it was grounding its entire fleet until further notice. EasyJet operated several flights a day between Jersey and London Gatwick as well as to eight other regional airports such as Liverpool.
On 1 April, the Jersey government announced that it was in negotiation with Blue Islands for the airline to provide continuity of air travel to the UK for passengers whose travel is deemed essential. This was agreed and from 20 April three regular flights would be flown to Southampton per week.
On 20 April, it was announced that nobody would be allowed to board a Blue Islands aircraft without government approval for the journey. Everyone arriving in the Island is subject to 14 days self-isolation unless exempted, each application for exemption being treated on its merits.
From 26 May, Blue Islands would run a weekly flight to Gatwick. On 16 June, Jersey's Treasury Minister revealed in the States Assembly that Government was considering a £10m loan to Blue Islands to ensure the continuation of lifeline links to and from the island.
From 1 June, passengers arriving in Jersey will be given an option to join a trial test whereby if accepted, the passenger will be given a PCR test and if negative will not be required to self-isolate for two weeks but will be required to undergo several additional tests with a finger prick blood serology test on the fourth and possibly additional PCR tests on fourth and seventh day after arrival.
Starting on 3 July, passenger ferries and flights may arrive in Jersey with passengers, who must pre-register before travelling and be tested on arrival, those testing positive and those refusing a test to be quarantined for 14 days, those awaiting test results and the negatives may move freely in the Island but must supply contact data for track and trace if necessary.

Health Issues

In June 2020 the States of Jersey published a report into the health aspects of the lockdown. Amongst the points made was that detentions by the Police of people suffering mental health issues had risen and that five attempts at suicide could be linked directly to the lockdown causing mental health issues. The poorest seem to be hit hardest, widening the gap between the have's and have not's.

End of life and funerals

In March, restrictions on funerals include a ban on church services and only a maximum of ten mourners who must be immediate family may attend was implemented.
The island has capacity for the storage of 100 bodies across the hospital and funeral homes, but the Government prepared a temporary morgue called ‘The Sanctum’ in case the capacity was exceeded.
In mid April, the March ban on visiting dying patients was lifted to permit relatives wearing PPE to visit their loved ones.

Other reactions

On 19 March, the island's telecommunications operators announced a free increase in broadband speed to 1Gb/s for all subscribers.

Statistics

Data per day

The figures below count only confirmed cases from tests; the actual number of infections and cases are likely to be higher than reported.
Data sourced from the .

Graphs

Total cases


New cases per week