Jersey border and vaccination press conference about to begin.

Highlights as we go in this thread…

Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Health Minister and Dr Ivan Muscat doing the briefing.

Chief Minister:

•All Islanders thanked for following rules
•Time to further relax restrictions and enjoy summer
•Regional UK traffic light map will be by country from 28 May
•Green arrivals tested on day 0 and 8 only, iso til day 0 result

•England, Wales and Scotland go green, Northern Ireland amber based on current rates from 28 May

Deputy Chief Minister:

•UK arrivals to Jersey who’ve been vaccinated twice won’t need to isolate from 28 May if coming from green or amber areas

•Vaccinated passengers will need to give proof through travel declaration and show proof on arrival (details TBC)
•Thanks Islanders for supporting hospitality on island

Health Minister:

•Keeping Islanders safe and well is key priority
•Ministers confident policy are strong

•Vaccination programme key part of staying safe
•43% of adults fully vaccinated inc those most at risk
•Vaccination roll out due to be completed by August
•Expanded testing programme remains key, inc workforce testing
•Follow good ventilation practises, mask wearing stays

•Physical distancing of at least one metre remain

Chief Minister:

•All measures under constant review

Here’s a summary of today’s announcement… https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2021-05-10/vaccinated-travellers-wont-need-to-isolate-when-visiting-jersey

Onto media questions:

•Dr Muscat says vaccinations prevent 95% of transmission, and then majority of recipients are now also vaccinated
•Chief Minister confirms pressure from airlines for a simpler system for tourists was key to their thinking

•Chief Minister says regional classification for Ireland and France will stay, but goes countrywide for UK nations
•Chief Minister says vaccination passport not discriminatory as there’s route to Jersey for anybody who wants to come
•Dr Muscat says vaccinations continue apace

•Dr Muscat says increasing vaccination rates in UK and reducing case rates make national rating system attractive
•Dr Muscat says current vaccines cover Kent and India variants, but if variants of concern rise in specific UK areas there could be a travel ban from just that area

•Dr Muscat says testing for some specific variants could be done as quickly as 48 hours under a new agreement
•Chief Minister says fractional changes around UK shouldn’t lead to sudden traffic light changes
•Dep Chief Min says international map will follow UK international map

•Health Minister says the vaccination travel system only applies to people jabbed in the Common Travel Area
•Chief Minister says if an app system isn’t in place by 28 May, there’ll be a paper back-up to begin with
•Health Minister says mask wearing is constantly being reviewed

•Dr Muscat says random poo testing will help spot when anything flares up on island
•Chief Minister says picture for international travel should look clearer by end of month
•Health Minister says you can hug within families, not beyond that

Ends

See you on the telly at 6