Three Covid-19 cases put Alderney on alert
ALDERNEY was bracing itself for another lockdown yesterday although no official announcement was made by Health & Social Care, which instead urged them not to be overly concerned.
The island’s largest employer, the Royal Connaught Nursing Home, closed its doors to visitors in the morning, as did the Mignot Memorial Hospital.
The Moorings Beach Bar and Restaurant announced it was closing for an unspecified period and shops and shops started asking patrons to wear masks.
Connaught home manager Liz Bowskill said the news that there were three new cases of Covid-19 in the island came as no surprise.
‘We were waiting for it,’ she said. ‘We knew it was going to come because they weren’t testing and people were coming in who had had two jabs but who could be carriers. We’ve had a contingency plan in place for a long time.’
Since 1 July the home had asked all visitors to wear personal protective equipment, but following the announcement of the new cases it closed its doors completely.
As well as caring for 41 residents, the home is responsible for the island’s care in the community and meals on wheels, and employs 70 staff.
It also offers a day service for elderly islanders, but this has now closed.
Miss Bowskill said that Alderney has a disproportionate number of visitors coming to the island to visit elderly relatives. ‘We’ve been having them in droves,’ she said. ‘People have been coming to see loved ones they’ve not seen in 18 months.’
A statement from HSC said that the Mignot Memorial Hospital was also closing to visits, but end-of-life visits could be arranged on an individual basis at both the Mignot and the Connaught, although at the Mignot even these visits were being discouraged.
Dermot Mullin, director of hospital and adult community care services, said the restrictions were a temporary measure until the full extent of the outbreak was understood.
Islanders were asked not to call the hospital or the Island Medical Centre for general information to enable staff to focus on those who need medical care.
A notice on the Facebook page of the Moorings said that it had taken the decision to close.
‘As a precautionary measure The Moorings will remain closed while we deep clean and await further info from public health. We will update you further as soon as we can,’ it said.Island resident David Nash said he saw the change happening yesterday morning: ‘People are wearing masks in town again.’
One shop had already closed its doors, while other stores had started putting hand sanitiser outside: ‘I think there is an air of worry,’ he said.
‘There’s massive respect for Dr Nichola Brink in the island and basically the people of Alderney will do what she says.
‘I think if the island does face another lockdown we will do it voluntarily because we have such a high proportion of retired people.
‘I think people are bracing themselves for the worst.’
Civil Contingencies Authority chairman Deputy Peter Ferbrache said it met yesterday lunchtime: ‘From a Guernsey perspective we are doing everything we can to support Alderney contain the identified cases and any spread. This includes both complete Public Health resources and all other relevant States of Guernsey services.’
He said the measures will be proportionate and in line with its strategy of living responsibly with Covid.
Alderney senior politician Bill Abel said islanders should not be overly concerned: ‘Dr Brink and her Public Health team have reacted swiftly overnight to make sure they are on top of the situation and we can be confident that their swift measures will contain this limited occurrence.
‘The island is highly vaccinated but we are urging people to be cautious in order to minimise risk.’
