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The States are warning that the Bailiwick's "essential services and critical infrastructure are severely strained" as the number of covid-19 cases reaches levels not seen before.
More than 2,000 new infections were identified over the past week and the number of known cases - released yesterday - is 2,574. However, the States acknowledged that "there are likely more cases within the community that are either unknown or have not been reported".
They also warned that "vulnerable members of our community are approaching six months since they received booster [vaccines], which means their immunity against the virus is waning".
Pictured: The latest covid-19 testing results show an unprecedented spike in the number of cases in the Bailiwick.
The Princess Elizabeth Hospital is operating almost at capacity and staff absence is high across hospital and community health services.
Around half of schools say they have significant concerns about staffing levels.
Other essential services are reporting that around one in 10 staff is absent from work for covid-related reasons.
The States said last night that "all services are coping at this stage" but warned that "the situation is challenging and any further deterioration could have a material impact on the services islanders receive".
The Civil Contingencies Authority oversaw the Bailiwick's response to the pandemic through the use of emergency legal powers for nearly two years until it lifted all legal restrictions on 17 February - just four weeks ago.
At the time, the Chairman of the Authority, Deputy Peter Ferbrache, called 17 February "hallelujah day" but also warned that people would need to continue being vigilant voluntarily to avoid the return of legal restrictions.
Last night, Deputy Ferbrache said that too many people had become too relaxed about the spread of the virus.
Pictured: Deputy Peter Ferbrache last night warned against complacency as the number of known cases of covid-19 reached a new high.
"When we announced that we were removing legal restrictions last month, we made it clear that covid-19 had not gone away and that the community needed to continue doing the right things," he said.
"While we have sought to continue communicating those key messages during the last month, it has been clear that a significant portion of the community have relaxed to the point of no longer doing the basics that we have all become familiar with in the last two years - wearing face coverings where needed, staying at home when unwell, and taking sensible precautions like good hygiene and giving people space.
"We are now at a point where it is really essential that the community supports these measures with some urgency so we can reduce the spread of the virus and the impact it is having on essential services and the island’s businesses more widely."
The States provided no indication that they are considering reintroducing legal restrictions. But they listed the following eight voluntary measures which they said the public should follow urgently to protect key services from further staff absence:
Dr Nicola Brink, the Medical Officer of Health, said that she and her colleagues "need the community's help and urgently...to follow these strongly recommended measures".
Pictured: Dr Nicola Brink appealed for the whole community to pull together to help limit the spread of covid-19 and protect essential services which are struggling with high levels of staff absence.
"While a large number of cases is not, of its own, necessarily a cause of concern, when those cases are having a detrimental impact on the delivery of essential services that all islanders rely on, we have to collectively as a community take action to help alleviate that pressure," said Dr Brink.
"We have seen in recent days the Hospital coming under increasing pressure due to the combination of a busy period in terms of admissions and large numbers of staff who are off with covid-19.
"But the Hospital is not the only critical service that is struggling at the moment. We know from colleagues in Education that schools are dealing with significant staffing pressures as are other public services. This is also being reflected in the private sector too."
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