Masks to become legal requirement again in Jersey

Tuesday 20 July 2021

People in Jersey will be required by law to wear masks again from Wednesday, with active case numbers now approaching 3,000.

Anyone over the age of 12 will have to wear face coverings in indoor public spaces.

Jersey's Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf is shortly due to sign an order to make the change, which follows the sharp rise in covid cases on the island. 

Senator Le Fondre hinted that other restrictions may also make a return in light of the number of cases, which has rocketed to almost 3,000. 

"We are taking this trend very seriously and I will be making a further announcement later this week to update you on any further changes to our policy...we will not hesitate to step up our measures if we feel it necessary," he said.

There are currently 2,813 people with covid-19 in Jersey - the equivalent of one in 38 members of the island's population - and 13,332 direct contacts. The latter group are not required to isolate unless they test positive.

There are 12 patients in the Jersey General Hospital with the illness. As of yesterday, there were two people were in Jersey's Intensive Care Unit.

It was also confirmed yesterday that one islander with the illness, who was under the age of 50 and not “clinically vulnerable”, had died in hospital.

The CCA in Guernsey has imposed extra restrictions on Jersey travellers in light of Jersey's spiralling situation. People coming from the larger Channel Island now need a negative PCR test on arrival irrespective of their vaccination status.

Any travellers not able to do so will be treated as Category 4 and will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.