‘Follow masks guidance or could be mandatory’
THE Civil Contingencies Authority is making a last-ditch attempt to get people to wear masks voluntarily in the face of rising Covid cases.
Its president, Peter Ferbrache, said that earlier this week the authority had seriously considered whether to make the wearing of face masks compulsory in order to bring case numbers down.
With the total number of cases standing at 385 yesterday, there are now more known active cases in the Bailiwick than at any single time during the whole pandemic.
In an open letter published today, Deputy Ferbrache said that some of the CCA’s recommendations had been acted on by the public, particularly lateral flow tests. But masks just have not caught on, unlike in the island’s second lockdown in January, he admitted.
‘Let’s face it, the use of face coverings is poor,’ said Deputy Ferbrache. ‘Even in the sorts of places where they are recommended – crowded places, places with poor ventilation, places where it’s hard to socially distance – very few people are using them.
‘We’re concerned that we are standing at a threshold now where if we don’t act, we will see the number of cases rises higher and higher until there’s no way to rein them back in.’
From today, employees in all States buildings and customers or visitors attending them, are being asked to observe the guidance and wear face coverings at all times.
While it was accepted that the rise in cases was not the cause for concern that it was due to the vaccination programme, there is a concern that the small percentage of people who became very ill would require hospital care.
‘While we have plans in place to increase hospital capacity for Covid patients at very short notice, there is of course still a limit to the overall capacity,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.
‘We know that general winter pressures will mean our hospital is extremely busy even before Covid cases are factored – a trend being seen in many parts of the UK.’
Face coverings were effective in reducing transmissions even if people only did it some of the time, he said.
Some have suggested making the wearing of face masks mandatory, but Deputy Ferbrache said his committee did not think at this stage it was for government to legislate how people led their day-to-day lives.
‘Not unless we absolutely have to in order to protect the health and wellbeing of others.’
Open letter in full, page 2
Opinion, page 16
