Jersey's bold step still has to clear hurdles

The British Airways passengers from Gatwick arrived, got tested (or showed proof that they had just had a negative test) and then threw aside their masks and rushed out to hug waiting relatives.

The emotional scenes will tug at the heartstrings of everyone who has been separated from friends and loved ones through the pandemic.

They will also fundamentally change life in Jersey for the many thousands most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

For there is no quarantine and, until the test results come though, no guarantee that the person sitting next to you on a bus or queuing at a shop has not just stepped off the plane from the UK and beyond.

The sense of security that comforts people in this Bailiwick after more than 60 days without a positive test no longer exists in Jersey.

There are those who would argue that the same will be true in Guernsey from tomorrow when the pilot scheme starts. However, given a seven-day quarantine, the island would be very unlucky if an outbreak started because one or two people beat the odds.

But it is possible and, for all the concern about the mental health of those stuck in self-isolation for 14 days, that increased risk will weigh heavily on the most vulnerable.

Jersey’s step is undoubtedly bolder. But will it achieve its goal of getting the island’s ‘valued hospitality sector back to work’?

The barriers are considerable. Not just the obligatory form-filling (Where have you been? Where are you staying? How long?) and the possibility of a three-hour wait at the ports while ‘robust’ checks are made but the daily contact with contact tracers.

Tourists also have to consider the possibility of testing positive for Covid-19. They may plan a week’s stay but then end up self-isolating for 14 days. Will insurance cover the hotel bills?

The number of tourists willing to undergo such checks will be key to the system’s success. As will the number of Jersey residents who will opt to travel to one of the 59 countries and 14 overseas territories on England’s quarantine-free list rather than spend their money in Jersey.