Lockdown looks set to remain in place

They have now been closed to the majority of pupils for four weeks.

Today’s updates follow positive signs that the restrictive measures are keeping infection rates down.

Lockdown currently expires at midnight on Saturday, marking 24 days of strict curbs on island life.

A press conference at 1pm today will detail what will happen from Sunday onwards.

It is anticipated that the lockdown will continue, although more information is likely to be given about what the eventual exit strategy will look like.

A staged return and gradual easing towards a more normal life has been talked about by the authorities, with outdoor low-risk workers such as gardeners and construction employees allowed back to work first, finishing at the other end of the spectrum with nightclubs.

Initially, confirmed cases were doubling every two days, but the rate of spread is now starting to decline, according to latest Public Health statistics.

Yesterday there were 234 positive results, up six on the day before, while nine people had died with confirmed Covid-19, one more than the previous day, and another three deaths have been linked to the virus.

The Princess Elizabeth Hospital has not been overwhelmed and there is spare capacity.

There are six people being cared for in hospital, but none requires intensive care support.

European nations have already begun to bring back some aspects of normal life.

In Denmark, pupils aged up to 11 have returned to school, while Austria allowed DIY stores, garden centres and some smaller shops to reopen with rules on wearing masks and limits on the number of people allowed inside.

Germany will allow most shops to open on Monday and millions of pupils to return to school in May.

The UK Government is said to be considering reopening schools outside of coronavirus hotspots next month.

Deputy Gavin St Pier, the chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority, said recently that an exit strategy was under active consideration.

‘What the Civil Contingencies Authority will be doing is taking advice from Public Health as one of our inputs, and we will also be thinking about the other dynamics at play, such as the mental health and wellbeing of the community and the economic wellbeing of the community.

‘What we want to avoid is a public health crisis becoming an economic crisis, which becomes unmanageable in itself.’

‘We have to think about what’s going to have the biggest impact for the lowest risk.’

Live broadcast at 1pm

The media briefing is at 1pm and will be live on the States’ Facebook page, on gov.gg and local radio.