Covid: Jersey to enter ‘hospitality circuit breaker’

Pubs, bars and restaurants in Jersey are set to close from 00:01 GMT on Friday for up to a month in order to tackle a surge in Covid cases.

The “hospitality circuit breaker” announced on Wednesday comes amid fears health services could be overwhelmed.

Food and hospitality outlets, except takeaways, will have to shut.

All shops can stay open, but indoor sport and fitness classes and gyms must close and the 2m (6.6ft) distancing law is to be brought back into force.

Chief Minister John Le Fondre said the recent rise in cases on the island presented “a real and immediate risk to health services… and islanders’ lives”.

The circuit-breaker measures are expected to remain in place until 4 January.

There are currently 331 active cases on Jersey with the majority – 231 – symptomatic and eight cases being treated in hospital.

On Wednesday, 56 new Covid cases were identified, the biggest daily total of new infections recorded so far.

Senator Le Fondre said Jersey’s R number was currently between 1.4 and 1.9, which “means each case is, on average, passing the infection on to more than one other person”.

“This is too much and we need to introduce more stringent restrictions to protect islanders.”

Jersey “now stands at an important crossroads in our pandemic response”, Senator Le Fondre said, adding: “I know that collectively these measures represent a significant restriction…particularly at this time of year, when we want to be celebrating and spending time with loved ones and friends.

“But we need to prevent our health services from being overwhelmed, and ensure we are still able to celebrate during the festive period.”

Support for affected businesses would be provided under the co-funded payroll scheme, according to the chief minister.

Rules on households mixing over Christmas will be announced in the next few days.

Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf warned the island would need to open its Nightingale hospital if cases continued to rise.