[Video above shows how sneeze particles propagate on a plane]
Unsafer Travel Period
In the very first Yes Minister episode, Sir Humphrey is challenged as to why he will call a publication "Open Government", when he is totally opposed to the concept. He says: "Always dispose of the difficulty in the title. It does less harm there than in the text."
This is what is about to happen according to the Government Website:
"In what we are calling the Safer Travel Period, we are proposing that people can travel to and from Jersey from 3 July without restrictions and without the need for special permission on medical, essential worker or other grounds. "
"And – most importantly – every traveller entering Jersey must either participate in the border testing programme, or they must self-isolate for the timeframe specified by the latest medical advice. "
Close, continued tracking - All travellers will be asked to provide contact information ahead of travel. And we will employ forensic contact tracing for people who have positive results, testing all direct contacts.
But Bailliwick Express notes that
Mr Skelton explained that, based on the latest advice from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC), a single PCR test (which determines if someone has the virus currently) will be administered with no follow-up tests given on days four and seven as was done with the testing pilot, and no requirement for passengers to quarantine until they get their results back.
Ian Gorst noted that the test system in place “has provided essential learning about how border testing can and will work in practice, and about the likely low levels of infections that are anticipated in arriving passengers as safer travel resumes.”
Clearly they have decided that the levels of infection are so small there is no need to self-isolate until the test results come back, and the “essential learning” was that because we had no cases with the small numbers coming in, we should expect low numbers with larger numbers coming in.
The "essential learning" was that the turnaround on test results was probably not quick enough to suit them, while passengers self-isolated, so they have decided instead to just drop it!
Travellers are “strongly advised” to limit their contacts!! Well Jersey has just set a prime example of how that works in the Isle of Man. Had those breaching the self-isolation guidelines been infectious, it would have now spread to a restaurant, to other people in that restaurant, and perhaps further afield. The Isle of Man takes this very seriously.
You have only to see how travellers into New Zealand recently brought back the virus to be alarmed at this because people often don't obey "strong advice".
Jersey however is run by people devoid of common sense, who seem hell-bent on reimporting the virus to Jersey. There's a hungry virus out there just waiting for a chance to come back, and there will clearly be plenty of opportunities for it to do so!
Mr Skelton explained that, based on the latest advice from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC), a single PCR test (which determines if someone has the virus currently) will be administered with no follow-up tests given on days four and seven as was done with the testing pilot, and no requirement for passengers to quarantine until they get their results back.
Ian Gorst noted that the test system in place “has provided essential learning about how border testing can and will work in practice, and about the likely low levels of infections that are anticipated in arriving passengers as safer travel resumes.”
Clearly they have decided that the levels of infection are so small there is no need to self-isolate until the test results come back, and the “essential learning” was that because we had no cases with the small numbers coming in, we should expect low numbers with larger numbers coming in.
The "essential learning" was that the turnaround on test results was probably not quick enough to suit them, while passengers self-isolated, so they have decided instead to just drop it!
Travellers are “strongly advised” to limit their contacts!! Well Jersey has just set a prime example of how that works in the Isle of Man. Had those breaching the self-isolation guidelines been infectious, it would have now spread to a restaurant, to other people in that restaurant, and perhaps further afield. The Isle of Man takes this very seriously.
You have only to see how travellers into New Zealand recently brought back the virus to be alarmed at this because people often don't obey "strong advice".
Jersey however is run by people devoid of common sense, who seem hell-bent on reimporting the virus to Jersey. There's a hungry virus out there just waiting for a chance to come back, and there will clearly be plenty of opportunities for it to do so!
Should this result in another spike, and should a return to lockdown measures in some form or another prove necessary, those who devised this “safer” policy – presumably the same idiots who opted for herd immunity – would in olden times (when justice was more summary) be taken out and strung up from the nearest lamp-post (or from Gallows Hill). As we live in more civilised times where justice has to follow more exact procedures, we cannot lynch them except at the ballot box, and I hope very much we will.
Of course, they may be lucky, especially as numbers are falling in Europe. The law of averages suggests that sooner or later luck will run out.
Of course, they may be lucky, especially as numbers are falling in Europe. The law of averages suggests that sooner or later luck will run out.
Just look at Leicester – going back on lockdown. The Greek government is extending a ban on direct flights arriving from Britain, pushing it back to July 15. Direct flights from Sweden have also been banned until this date. Greece cited the UK's high rate of coronavirus cases as one of the factors, with Sweden also being blocked for the same reason.
And where are we looking to get tourists from, where they can wander around Jersey until their test results come through? The UK! I don’t know if anyone has been handing out local medical advice to say that is safe, when Greek medics clearly think it isn’t. Never mind, if we get a spike, the "expert medical advice" will probably be the tried and tested remedy of leeches.
The UK is on the persona non gratis list of many countries as Covid is still rife in parts of the mainland - especially London, Liverpool and Glasgow which is where the bulk of EasyJet services run from into Jersey - and into continental Europe.
Jersey's Chief Minister has warned the island could be left without EasyJet services this summer if it does not reopen the borders this Friday (3 July). And yet this contradicts what we were told before just 10 days ago: "Easyjet and British Airways will run flights to and from Jersey when the Island’s borders open, with additional capacity for testing arriving passengers being planned by the government, it has been confirmed.” There was no indication that had to be July 3rd - or else lose Easyjet.
But the Guardian reports that Jersey would not have been on the first tranche of services to be re-instated - all of which were domestic/regional routes, which doesn't indicate any priority on their part to resume services into Jersey - which for customs reasons is in any event regarded as an overseas destination.
Meanwhile, a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in the Peak District could see its hotels, pubs and restaurants remain closed until further notice. The side effect of too lax restrictions could likewise be devastating for Jersey, if hotels and restaurants become “hot spots” and have to close to tourists while they are deep cleaned.
Further afield, the Irish Examiner reports that carefully staged tourism plans to re-open Portugal’s Algarve to sunseekers have been blown apart by a dramatic surge in confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to an illegal party near Lagos earlier this month. Officials confirmed yesterday there are now 90 confirmed cases arising from a gathering of up to 100 people at a June 7 party in Odiáxere on the western Algarve. Most of the confirmed cases (48) live in Lagos, a hotspot for Irish holidaymakers.
The Telegraph reports that “Portugal reimposed restrictions in and around the capital to check fresh coronavirus outbreaks, prompting fears the summer tourist season will take a major hit.”
As Nick Trend notes:
“An upsurge of cases in Portugal, the local lockdown in Leicester and the suggestion that people visiting Scotland from England might have to quarantine on arrival, are more clear-cut examples of the sort of complications we face.”
The JEP reports that “Some politicians have expressed concern that passengers will not need to isolate while they await their results, which ministers hope will take around 12 hours, but could be as long as 72 hours.”
I share that concern. I'm not against opening borders, and I suspect that keeping borders closed will be the "straw man" argument used by the government, but I'm against opening the borders in an unsafe manner - and then having the gall of calling it a "Safer Travel Period"!
And where are we looking to get tourists from, where they can wander around Jersey until their test results come through? The UK! I don’t know if anyone has been handing out local medical advice to say that is safe, when Greek medics clearly think it isn’t. Never mind, if we get a spike, the "expert medical advice" will probably be the tried and tested remedy of leeches.
The UK is on the persona non gratis list of many countries as Covid is still rife in parts of the mainland - especially London, Liverpool and Glasgow which is where the bulk of EasyJet services run from into Jersey - and into continental Europe.
Jersey's Chief Minister has warned the island could be left without EasyJet services this summer if it does not reopen the borders this Friday (3 July). And yet this contradicts what we were told before just 10 days ago: "Easyjet and British Airways will run flights to and from Jersey when the Island’s borders open, with additional capacity for testing arriving passengers being planned by the government, it has been confirmed.” There was no indication that had to be July 3rd - or else lose Easyjet.
But the Guardian reports that Jersey would not have been on the first tranche of services to be re-instated - all of which were domestic/regional routes, which doesn't indicate any priority on their part to resume services into Jersey - which for customs reasons is in any event regarded as an overseas destination.
Meanwhile, a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in the Peak District could see its hotels, pubs and restaurants remain closed until further notice. The side effect of too lax restrictions could likewise be devastating for Jersey, if hotels and restaurants become “hot spots” and have to close to tourists while they are deep cleaned.
Further afield, the Irish Examiner reports that carefully staged tourism plans to re-open Portugal’s Algarve to sunseekers have been blown apart by a dramatic surge in confirmed Covid-19 cases linked to an illegal party near Lagos earlier this month. Officials confirmed yesterday there are now 90 confirmed cases arising from a gathering of up to 100 people at a June 7 party in Odiáxere on the western Algarve. Most of the confirmed cases (48) live in Lagos, a hotspot for Irish holidaymakers.
The Telegraph reports that “Portugal reimposed restrictions in and around the capital to check fresh coronavirus outbreaks, prompting fears the summer tourist season will take a major hit.”
As Nick Trend notes:
“An upsurge of cases in Portugal, the local lockdown in Leicester and the suggestion that people visiting Scotland from England might have to quarantine on arrival, are more clear-cut examples of the sort of complications we face.”
The JEP reports that “Some politicians have expressed concern that passengers will not need to isolate while they await their results, which ministers hope will take around 12 hours, but could be as long as 72 hours.”
I share that concern. I'm not against opening borders, and I suspect that keeping borders closed will be the "straw man" argument used by the government, but I'm against opening the borders in an unsafe manner - and then having the gall of calling it a "Safer Travel Period"!
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