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The Director of Public Health has expressed concerns after a “small number” of travellers arrived in Jersey with the more transmissible variant of covid-19 first discovered in India.
Medical staff in Jersey have been sending positive covid-19 samples to a UK laboratory for analysis, to monitor which variants are present in the island.
Government officials announced that a “small number” of samples from a batch of 52 had returned positive results for the B1.617.2 variant. They declined to confirm the exact number when asked by Express.
Those with the variant are currently in quarantine and said to be doing well.
Pictured: Dr Nicola Brink responded to the news in the most recent CCA media briefing.
Dr Nicola Brink was asked about the arrival of the so-called ‘Indian variant’ during the latest Civil Contingencies Authority media briefing.
"We’re taking it very seriously,” said Dr Brink. “Not only are we looking at how it affects contact tracing, we are looking at how we diagnose infections.
“We are monitoring the situation in all of our neighbouring jurisdictions very carefully and we will be responding appropriately."
The island is due to open up its borders completely to the UK, Jersey, Ireland and the Isle of Man on 1 July. Given that plans are to drop all quarantine restrictions and testing requirements on that date within the Common Travel Area, the Director of Public Health said these developments will continue to be watched closely.
“We’re not panicking, but it is concerning,” she added.
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