'The second wave is now over' - Dr Brink
THERE are now no known active cases of Covid in the Bailiwick.
It has been 27 days since a new case of Covid-19 was found, but one patient had been in hospital for some time after having tested positive.
Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said this person is still in hospital, but no longer has an active infection.
'This is a good day for us but of course we hope the person has a speedy recovery,' she said.
Chair of the Civil Contingencies Authority thanked islanders for their efforts and co-operation, as earlier this week marked one year since the island first went into lockdown.
The next Covid press briefing is due to be in two weeks, unless something serious needs to be addressed before then.
Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said the last year had been full of incredible highs and lows and acknowledged the support that Public Health had been given by the community.
511 people have contracted the virus in the second wave.
'But we can now officially say that the second wave is now over,' she said.
Just under 84,000 Covid tests have been carried out since 9 March 2020.
821 positive cases were found from this.
Talking about enhancing surveillance capacity, she explained how around 35 Covid tests could be done at the start of the first wave, with a wait time of about four to five days for a result.
'Fast forward to the end of the second wave, our on-island testing capacity can do between 1,500 and 2,000 tests a day with a test-to-result time of 24 hours, usually between eight and 12 hours.'
From next week, lateral flow testing will be rolled out, forming part of the surveillance testing programme in the interim period before the community is fully vaccinated.
Dr Brink said: 'What it'll help us do is detect asymptomatic infections.'
People with symptoms should still come forward for PCR-based tests.
Lateral flow testing also is not suitable to be used on people who have been vaccinated, as they have lower viral levels and a more sensitive test would be required.
This is a self-taken sample that selected groups would do themselves twice a week, such as law enforcement officials and education staff.
'False positive rates are extremely rare,' she said.
Moving on to vaccine statistics, Dr Brink gave an update on the internationally-comparable vaccination rate of people per 100 in the population.
The Bailiwick's is now at 47.6.
More to follow
