Mandatory masks in shops and stricter rules for arrivals

The update comes as 262 new Covid cases were confirmed in the Bailiwick over the weekend, with the island now having 782 active cases.

But so far no cases of the new Omicron variant have been found locally, with all recent cases being Delta.

From midnight tomorrow masks will become mandatory in shops, on public transport and in some States properties, with face coverings remaining strongly recommended in crowds and areas of poor ventilation.

However, this is not being extended to businesses where it would effectively prevent the business from operating.

PCR tests will become mandatory for non-Common Travel Area vaccinated travellers, while all CTA arrivals will be required to purchase LFTs again.

While vaccinated contacts of Covid cases currently do not need to isolate, if they are found to be a contact of a Omicron case they will be required to self-isolate for 10 days.

Civil Contingencies Authority chairman Peter Ferbrache said it was reacting proportionately to the new risk.

‘We need to recognise the uncertainty that the Omicron variant brings and the measures that we are introducing are precautionary and reflect the uncertainty of the current situation,’ he said.

‘We’re not seeking to overreact and we want people to continue to be able to live, work, attend school and enjoy the festive period with as little unnecessary disruption as possible.’

With masks rules, Deputy Ferbrache said if people did not follow the rules, they were committing an offence.

‘The idea is not to prosecute people, unless absolutely necessary,’ he said.

‘But if there is abuse and prosecutions are necessary, we’ve already received a response from the head of law enforcement. They will be able to enforce it.’

There are currently about 93 new cases of Covid a day, with Dr Brink describing it as a significant wave of infection.

About 350 of the 782 active cases are in under 19s.

With so many cases in young people, this has led to stronger masks rules in schools for secondary pupils and teachers in communal areas.

But Dr Brink asked islanders to note that there were very few cases in older islanders, which was likely due to the successful booster programme.

Over the weekend, 32 people who had come over recently from newly red list countries came forward for testing. One was found to be Covid positive, but it was the Delta variant.

About 10% of local cases are now being sequenced.

Research on the new variant is ongoing.

Deputy Ferbrache said if it was not more serious than Delta, he would expect the new restrictions to be lifted quickly.

‘But that’s going to take a time,’ he said.

Dr Brink agreed.

‘We are in a volatile situation at the moment,’ she said.

‘We don’t know how Omicron’s going to play out.’

Yesterday’s press conference was Deputy Ferbrache’s first since recovering from Covid-19.