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WQ.278/2020
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY I. GARDINER OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 13th JULY 2020
Question
Will the Minister advise –
- how many known active cases of Covid-19 it is planned there will need to be in the Island to trigger a decision to reclose the borders, and what other statistically-determined conditions, if any, will be considered before such a decision is taken;
- how many active cases of Covid-19, if any, it is anticipated will necessitate reinstating lockdown' measures; and
- what policy, if any, is in place to introduce stricter guidance in response to any changes in the pandemic in the Island?
Answer
- Should an increase in cases occur, re-tightening of any public health measures will be based on medical and operational judgement of multiple factors, rather than triggered by reaching a statistically-derived threshold. The factors to be considered include, but will not be limited to, the nature of the active COVID-19 cases on-island and how they arose, as well as the number; and upon the outcomes of the track and trace process, as well as the capacity across the health and care system. Case histories and evidence of effective responses to similar clusters internationally will also be taken into account.
- As above, the number of active cases is an important factor, but not the only one, that will inform any decision to re-tighten any public health measures. The first response is to contain the spread of the disease through our test, trace and isolate approach. If wider measures are required, more targeted or limited measures could be taken before taking the significant decision to re-instate stay at home' (lockdown') measures. These targeted measures will depend on the situation in hand, and accordingly could include changes to the safer travel policy, but also measures such as closing premises, or increasing physical distance guidance.
- Government is ready to respond to changes in the pandemic, as set out in the answers to a) and b) above. The approach will be underpinned by existing monitoring and analysis processes in order to review threats and ensure swift and tailored actions to prevent new clusters and contain the spread of infection.