CCA rules out mandatory mask wearing for now

Last night’s statement came after a plea from Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache last week for people to wear masks in a bid to slow the sharp rise in local Covid cases. Yesterday active case numbers rose to 445, following 38 recoveries and 48 new cases in the previous 24 hours.

The CCA is still strongly recommending masks in certain settings including places where physical distancing is not possible, where there is poor ventilation and where there are crowds.

‘The CCA discussed in detail if it should make the use of face coverings mandatory, but voted against this,’ a spokesman said.

‘The decision not to make their use mandatory was in line with a range of evidence and advice from officers in different service areas including public health and other medical experts. A crucial factor in the decision was the increase in use of face coverings seen across the community in the past few days, with several of the large retailers reporting around 80% of islanders are using them.’

Deputy Ferbrache has previously said he did not believe it was government’s position to legislate how everyone’s their day-to-day lives unless absolutely necessary. CCA members expressed their appreciation to the community for taking responsibility not just for their own health but for the health of others. Face coverings form part of the local strategy for living with Covid, which includes islanders taking regular lateral flow tests and calling up for a PCR test if they are symptomatic.

‘The CCA will continue to monitor the use of face coverings over the coming weeks, as it monitors the number of positive cases and importantly, the pressures on the hospital which currently is continuing to cope well,’ the spokesman said.

‘The CCA also continues to monitor the impact of cases on various services. As those who test positive are required to isolate for at least 10 days, the rising number of cases does present a concern for various workforces both in the public and private sector.’

While many of these individuals will experience only a mild illness or even no symptoms at all, the nature of their job may mean they are not able to work from home.’

There have been 2,819 local cases since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 2,000 of these have been diagnosed since the end of the second wave at the end of February 2021.

More than 4% of the population - one in 25 people - have now had a confirmed case of Covid-19.

BLOB A live Covid-19 media briefing will be broadcast today at 1pm.