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It was just after 19:30 on a wet and wintry Wednesday night, and tempers were getting badly frayed.
Ministers had scheduled a last-minute media briefing to announce 'lockdown-lite,' effectively shutting down the hospitality and fitness industries for the critical festive period. The heavy pressure caused by an "alarming" spike in covid cases in the run-up to Christmas was clear for all to see, with both the senior politicians, and the media asking questions, showing obvious signs of the anxiety which was beginning to now grip the community.
Last week was perhaps the most dramatic in the entire covid saga in Jersey.
Just a few days before there was a small, but palpable, sense of public optimism as cases stabilised and even slightly dipped after a half-term spike. The Government’s policy of containing the virus through tracking and tracing appeared to be on course.
Covid-19 is a seasonal respiratory virus so the doctors and scientists advising Ministers had told them to expect an increase in cases. Back on 16 November, when there were 162 active cases and 1,600 Islanders having to isolate, Ministers were forced to ramp up measures, which included enhanced border testing and the requirement that all licensed premises close at 22:30 from Friday that week.
But the Government’s overall message was clear: the winter strategy was in place and if these messages were followed, a lockdown would be avoided.
Yet today, the island is in the top 40 places in the world that are most seriously affected by covid, with strident calls for the schools to close early and Ministers saying they are on the point of opening the Nightingale Ward.
Pictured: Ministers say we are close to the trigger point for opening the Nightingale Ward.
Express maps out exactly how things have changed.
Throughout the week, Ministers held a series of virtual public meetings on the Government Plan. With the Chief Minister attending every session, his colleagues of the Council took it in turns to outline their spending plans until 2024. The sessions had been postponed from earlier in the month due to the Vote of No Confidence in Senator Le Fondré’s leadership.
The Chief Minister was the main speaker at an Institute of Directors’ lunch, where he stressed that there was no fixed number that would trigger a lockdown, but he also offered hope, following news of vaccine breakthroughs at the weekend, that life would be ‘back to normal’ by April.
The States give the Health Minister the power to turn existing guidelines about mask-wearing and the number of people allowed at gatherings into law, with those not following them now committing criminal offences and liable to up to a £1,000 fine.
However, it will only become law once he signs an order.
Pictured: Masks were made compulsory in indoor public places last week
Comment on Facebook: “Another day on the downward trend and one less tested positive in hospital. Good news."
The day begins with the media reporting on the encouraging stabilisation, and even slight fall in active cases - but Dr Ivan Muscat reminds islanders not to be fooled by the figures. His words are prescient: hours later, the Government strays from its usual template of delivering the daily stats to start its Facebook post with news of a specific “super-spreading” event.
“We are aware of a cluster of cases originating from a private event held last week in the hospitality sector. This is being investigated to check whether or not all the public health measures were followed. We would urge Islanders to adhere to the rules, as just one event can have a significant effect on our statistics and we want to ensure we can continue to avoid a lockdown in the run-up to Christmas,” it says.
Pictured: the Royal Yacht has strenuously denied suggestions that all procedures weren't properly followed
The Government holds a lunchtime press conference on its vaccine strategy, announced two days in advance with the media benefiting from a detailed briefing. The Royal Yacht is named as the location of the private event, but is not the only one: the Government later confirms that two other ‘super-spreading’ gatherings have been responsible for large clusters. In total, there were more than 1,300 direct contacts, many of them school children, from those three events.
Cases surge over the weekend. The Government’s mass testing strategy isn’t helped by an IT glitch which sees long queues form on roads leading up to the Airport testing centre during the day.
A 19:00 press conference is arranged with invitations to the media going out that day, although there is still time for a press briefing in the afternoon and a 17:00 embargo for news to be released. New measures, include the legal and finance sector to join workforce testing programme, a recommendation to work from home if you can from the following Monday, and compulsory mask-wearing from the next day, after the Health Minister signs an order six days after the States gave him the power to do so. Ministers also say that over 60s will be tested and there will be some form of household bubbling for Christmas. Further guidance will be issued later in the week, they add.
At the press conference, a tired looking Chief Minister and Health Minister come from an afternoon in the States Assembly to the Parade to speak live on social media. Even Deputy Medical Officer of Health Dr Ivan Muscat looks a little weary and is coughing frequently, causing some following the conference to question whether he has caught the virus. Thankfully, he looks better later in the week.
Compulsory mask-wearing in public indoor spaces like shops, taxis and the bus station comes into force at 10:00. It's more than two months after the Minister first said he would make face coverings mandatory. Later in the day, the Royal Yacht comes out fighting, saying that it followed all the health guidelines.
Pictured: Tempers frayed under the pressure at last week's 'lockdown-lite' announcement.
Another hurriedly arranged 19:00 live-streamed conference, this time with no press briefing beforehand. The Government erroneously tweets that the conference will be announcing a ”circuit breaker”, sparking much panic of a mini-lockdown. Later, they delete tweet and clarify they meant a hospitality circuit breaker.
For the first time in months, Ministers refer to the reproduction (or ‘R’) rate, which is the average number of secondary infections produced by a single infected person. It is now between 1.6 and 2, giving the strongest indication yet that the virus is now out of control.
Most significantly, Ministers announce the hospitality shutdown with all licensed premises, including hotels, closing from Friday. The industry appears to get a few hours‘ warning, although an email from the Jersey Hospitality Association to members says that its lockdown will go to at least 18 December, with a review on 16 December, but it could stretch to 4 January. There's no mention of a 16 December review at the conference - the worst-case scenario is realised.
However, there is no advance warning for the fitness industry, with all gyms told they too have to shut from Friday until at least 4 January. Retail will also be affected with the return of the 2m distancing rule, which in practice means limiting numbers in shops and supermarkets. The outside queues that became a feature of island life in May and June are to make an unwelcome return in December.
Pictured: further support for bars, restaurants and gyms has not yet been announced, beyond the co-funding payroll scheme.
With the Economic Development Minister absent from the conference, there is no update on any financial measures to support affected businesses, although it later transpires that the updated co-funded payroll scheme is the main line of defence. The Chief Minister appears to have no additional comfort to give when challenged on how the costs of Christmas stock already brought in will be covered.
The Chief Minister and Health Minister appear ruffled at the conference when it is suggested they should have acted a week earlier. Deputy Richard Renouf accuses one journalist of trying to trip ministers up before brandishing a piece of paper to show that they could not have foreseen the spike in cases. A number of people following on social media don‘t take kindly to his comment, to illustrate how hard he is working, that his first meeting of the day had been at 07:45.
Hospital visits are suspended after seven people in hospital are confirmed as having the virus - five of which were identified during a hospital screening process.
The pub trade strongly hit back at ministers for their decision to close all licenses premises at 22.30. An incensed Gavin Reid of Randalls accuses politicians of having “complete disregard” for the trade and says that the only impact that early closures have had is to push people out into the streets, burger bars and taxi queues, where there is no social distancing at all.
Just hours before all hospitality and fitness venues have to close down for a month, affected industries complain that they have no idea of what financial support will be on offer, except the readjusted payroll scheme. In particular, the wholesale trade asks what will happen to the tonnes of stock they have pre-ordered for Christmas.
The Government tells people who believe themselves to be a direct contact - but who have not been officially told - that they can go back to normal life in 24 hours if they are not called by the Contact Tracing team. This appears to sparks a lot of confusion among Islanders.
Pictured: technical problems have prompted long waiting times for those calling the contact tracing team.
Press conference is expected to hear how the promised festive household bubbles will look, but none is organised and announcement is pushed back to the following Monday. Meanwhile, with hundreds of pupils and students forced to isolate at home, teaching unions heavily criticise the Government’s insistence that schools remain open. Education Minister Tracey Vallois responds by saying that closing schools would adversely affect children’s wellbeing - but does allow for a 'flexible' approach, with parents able to pull their kids out of school if they choose.
The Government try to clear up the confusion around contact tracing, and also manage expectations around receiving test results.
A technical issue with testing compounds the problem of the Contact Tracing Team's phone lines being overwhelmed, with some islanders waiting more than an hour to get through. The Government tell islanders to expect a 48-hour wait between coming into contact with a positive case and receiving a call from the team.
The number of new cases only goes up a relatively small amount. Once Facebook commentator writes: “Pleased to see the daily increase is down significantly - and a net increase of 10. Maybe they’ve got this after all .... who knows?” but most are cautious, especially after news of the glitch.
The IT glitch apparently resolved and the full numbers are revealed. Jersey's covid cases top 500 - an average of 60 a day over the weekend. Any hopes of a stabilisation of cases are dashed.
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