Jersey to close pubs and enter month long circuit-breaker

Jersey has announced new circuit-breaker restrictions, with all hospitality venues and indoor sports facilities to close.

The measures are being put in place from Friday as the reproduction number – the R value – of coronavirus is understood to have reached between 1.6 and 2.0 on the Channel Island.

The Jersey government has said it will keep the measures under review but they are expected to remain in place until January 4.

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.

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

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

Chief minister John Le Fondre said: “We are seeing more cases in hospital and a continuing growth in the number of positive cases in the community.

“We have been briefed on the current R rate, which is between 1.6 and 2.0.

“This 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.

“If we don’t take this action now, we could be facing more stringent restrictions.

“However, we anticipate that these actions will, in the next two to three weeks, lead to a reduction in case numbers.

“This will not happen straight away, as a change in measures takes at least two weeks to make an impact on figures. We must therefore take this action to protect both our population and our healthcare system.”

Health and social services minister Richard Renouf said: “We have received some sobering advice from our scientific and medical colleagues, and we are convinced that this is the right approach. If these numbers continue to rise, we will need to open the Nightingale Ward.

“I have already made mask-use and contact-tracing a legal requirement, and the permitted size of gatherings has been reduced.

“Now it’s time to take these restrictions further. This isn’t a lockdown and we won’t be limiting the time people can spend outside their homes, but we are trying to limit the potential for uncontrolled spread of Covid-19 by closing hospitality venues, gyms and indoor exercise classes, and by keeping people further apart in public areas.”

Additional reporting by PA.