Select a region
There are currently 44 people with covid in the hospital – the highest that it has ever been over the course of the whole pandemic.
Latest figures show that the rise in hospital cases has been rapid. Just the week before last, on Friday 25 February it had stood at 11, so cases trebled in seven days.
Express has asked the Government for comment but had not received a response by publication.
Here, we dig further into the data...
There is a obviously an important distinction between those in hospital because of covid – known as ‘clinical covid’ – and those who are being treated for something else, such as a broken leg, but test positive once they are there. These patients have ‘coincidental covid on admission’.
The omicron variant has been found to be less severe but more transmissible than previous incarnations, so once in an enclosed setting, it is more likely to spread.
This week, the Council of Ministers is due to fix a date after which positive cases won't need to isolate.
Before this recent spike, the highest number in this winter’s wave was 30 cases in hospital on 24 January.
And before that, the previous high point was 31 cases on 22 December 2020.
Pictured: There are currently 44 people in hospital with Covid, the highest it has ever been during the pandemic.
Recently published minutes from a meeting of the Government’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell (STAC), held on 24 January, reveal the group’s thinking on hospitalisations at the time:
“The Cell was informed that a report had been published on 21 January 2022, which showed that in the six-month period from July to December 2021, 88 people aged 40 years and over had been admitted to hospital with ‘clinical covid’, and 35% of these patients had subsequently been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
“The estimated relative risk of admission to Jersey General Hospital due to clinical covid for those aged over 40 was 3.5 to 14.4 times greater in those who received less than two doses of covid vaccine than in those who received two or more doses.
“The relative risk for admission to ICU with clinical covid in individuals who received less than two doses of vaccine was 7.4 to 30.8 times greater than in those who received two or more doses. The report highlighted the importance of vaccination as a means of protecting Islanders from severe illness.”
The number of cases in care homes has also been rising of late. There are currently 44 cases, fewer than the 57 on Thursday but that day was the highly daily total of this wave.
Over the whole pandemic, the highest number of covid cases in Jersey care homes was 79, on 23 December 2020.
There have been 114 deaths where covid features on the death certificate. 71 of those have been at the General Hospital, 3 in St. Saviour’s Hospital, 34 in care homes, and six at home.
One person has died aged 40-49, six have died aged 50-59, ten have died aged 60-69, 22 have died aged 70-79, 46 have died aged 80-89, 29 have died aged 90 or over.
The most recent death was a female aged 50-59.
The average age of islanders who have recovered is 34.
61% of those who have died have been male, 39% have been female.
Pictured: A campaign to increase the number of walk-ins to the vaccination centre was poorly received, according to STAC minutes.
The STAC minutes for 24 January record: “With regards to the vaccination status query, the Cell was informed that there had been 27 deaths since the introduction of the covid vaccine and the matter would be discussed during the next item on the agenda, namely the update on the publication of information relating to the vaccination status of hospitalised patients.”
The minutes of that meeting are yet to be published.
Concerning vaccination, the 24 January meeting also recorded that the campaign to encourage more walk-ins at the Fort has been updated after being poorly received.
Minutes from earlier STAC minutes – again, recently published – give some indication on why that might be the case.
On 29 December, “the Cell was apprised of the results of social media sentiment analysis, noting growing feelings of distrust between Islanders and the Government, a point which was particularly related to the lack of an exercise policy for Omicron cases initially which had subsequently been addressed; concern about the impact on staffing in local businesses; support for mandatory mask wearing and a sense of ‘restriction fatigue’.
“A campaign aimed at encouraging vaccination among pregnant women had not been well received due in part to the stark message and demographic on the platform on which it had been issued.
“A member of the Cell noted that the campaign, though hard-hitting, was factual and might benefit from a review of how it was presented as well as referencing the supporting data behind the message. It was noted that Islanders continued to express a desire for more information on hospitalised cases.”
That meeting also noted that there had been a high number of cases in the Met Office, which could have impacted the provision of round-the-clock weather reporting and operations at the Airport.
There are now 2,050 ‘known active cases’. Last time it was above 2,000 cases was 11 February, when 2,018 people had covid. The peak of this wave, and the pandemic as a whole, was 7 January, when there were 4,137 cases. Between those dates, it dropped to 1,941 on 24 January but has climbed since then.
Overall, 52 per cent of all positive cases have been female, 48% male. The average age of someone testing positive has been 35.
Despite the relatively high number of cases at the moment, the Government is continuing with its ‘de-escalation’ strategy. As stated, this week the Council of Ministers is meeting to decide a date – due to be before the end of this month – when positive cases will no longer have to isolate.
The newly published STAC minutes shed some light of the thinking behind that. Part of the strategy, for instance, is continuing to purify the air in schools and colleges.
Pictured: STAC minutes reveal discussions around how covid will be managed in schools.
At a meeting on 17 January, “the Cell was apprised of a proposal by CYPES to purchase and implement air purifiers and UV-C technology disinfection units to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 in educational settings.
“The Cell noted the options available, their benefits and disadvantages, costs, and lead in times.
“The proposal covered areas in schools where pupils and or staff gathered for more than 15 minutes at any one time, including staff rooms, and the scope varied from 830 rooms for maintained non-fee paying and fee-paying schools and colleges, 957 rooms should non-maintained schools in receipt of grants be included and 1,012 rooms should independent schools be included.
“An observer noted that the introduction of air purification and or disinfection devices should be considered in the longer-term context, noting that it may be beneficial in the event of future waves of infection or the emergence of new variants.
“The member noted that it was not known if reducing exposure to circulating viruses could unintentionally impact the development of children’s immune systems going forwards.
“There was a need to balance the benefits of air filtration against the unknown effects of placing children ‘in a bubble’ at school. The member expressed a view that the devices would help schools to address the transmission of covid and noted the lead in times for installation, which varied from weeks to months, depending on the devices selected.”
That meeting also heard that the Covid Safe Team “had perhaps appeared somewhat over-zealous with regards to deep cleaning advice that it had issued to businesses”.
However, “another member interjected, noting that surface and hand hygiene were vitally important ‘business as usual’ processes and helped to mitigate the spread of other viruses, such as Norovirus."
The minutes continue: “The member opined that the focus on ventilation was important, which the first member agreed with. Notwithstanding this, the first member thought it would be desirable to move away from advice to deep clean premises and adopt a more proportionate approach to hygiene advice.”
Mandatory isolation for positive cases is expected to be replaced with guidance focusing on self-assessment through checking symptoms and lateral flow testing.
ALL covid rules scrapped in months under new 'de-escalation plan'
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.