WATCH: 'Do not abuse Covid vaccination team' - Ferbrache
A THIRD of Covid cases seen in the second wave are still active, the director of Public Health has said.
Today's Covid-19 press briefing got off to a somber start as chair of the Civil Contingencies Authority Deputy Peter Ferbrache announced the first Covid-19 death in the Bailiwick's second wave.
A gentleman in his 60s died due to a Covid-related illness, he confirmed.
'This just shows how horrible this virus is and that is why we've got to remain vigilant to ensure we're out of this situation as soon as we can and as safely as we can.'
A CCA meeting will take place tomorrow to consider when Guernsey can progress to the first stage of lockdown exit.
While Sark has moved to Stage 1 today, Guernsey and Alderney's progression will be decided upon tomorrow.
'What we don't want to do is come out of lockdown and have to go back in again,' he said.
'So tomorrow we will be discussing if and when we can move out later this week.'
States chief executive Paul Whitfield confirmed a case had appeared in court this morning where someone was found to have breached self-isolation rules. A £10,000 fine was placed on them.
Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink also offered her condolences to the family of the person who died at the weekend.
While overall figures are going in the right direction, a third of cases are still active.
'We can now see the total number of cases plateauing off,' she said.
'What we can see by plotting the progress in this wave is an increase in recoveries and a decrease in active cases - which is exactly what we want to see.'
Looking at cases over the weekend, Dr Brink said surveillance testing has helped to identify cases already.
On Sunday, four cases were seen. Three through contact tracing and one found through source testing.
'This case had been self-isolating but there was probably transmission within the family and we want to make sure that's not gone further.'
Encouragingly, the care home situation continues to be contained.
Surveillance testing of staff and residents has detected no further cases.
The majority of cases occur in 51 to 60 year olds.
'We have seen less severe affects of the virus in our vaccinated population,' she said.
Heading into lockdown, there were around 20 contacts per case. But this number has fallen drastically, which Dr Brink was pleased to see.
'By limiting contacts you limit the onward spread of the virus,' she said.
At the start of this second wave, efforts were concentrated on symptomatic people. But as time has gone on with a broader testing regime of hunting out cases, more asymptomatic cases are being discovered.
This demonstrates a proactive approach rather than a reactive one.
Talking about vaccines, Dr Brink said: 'Cohorts 1 and 2 and 2a, which is the older adults, residents of care homes and staff in them [who wanted a vaccine] have had their first dose, many have also had their second.'
Over-65s have started being booked in for their vaccine appointments.
She asked people not to phone Public Health, because there is an estimated 4,000 people who need to be contacted, and Public Health are dealing with this in blocks of 500.
'By the end of April, we're hoping to give everyone in Phase 1 their first dose of the vaccine,' she said.
As of the close of play yesterday, 16,236 doses of the vaccine had been administered, which Dr Brink said was an incredible effort from a very small team.
Reminding people how important it was to come forward for testing if they have any symptoms, however mild, she explained newer symptoms such as rashes.
'The more serious signs of Covid like shortness of breath need urgent attention,' she said. 'So it's really important not to ignore any symptoms.'
Deputy Ferbrache said how frequently Public Health are contacted by people in the community with questions about fast-tracking some people/groups for vaccinations.
'What is unacceptable is that our vaccination team are being abused or shouted at. Do not do that. If you've got a complaint, phone me up - and don't do it anonymously,' he said.
'If we had enough vaccines, we would vaccinate all of the teachers tomorrow. But we are restricted by the JCVI and we have to follow that.'
More to follow
