Unrestricted travel, the end of contact tracing, and children are asked to test daily before school... what 7 February means for Jersey.

Jersey's border Covid rules have been scrapped.

The government says its 'Safer Travel Policy' has been suspended.

It means arrivals into the island are no longer tested or required to isolate regardless of their vaccination status or where they have travelled from.

The online pre-departure form - which had to be completed within 48 hours of making a journey to the island  - has also been scrapped.

It's the first time since the pandemic began in March 2020 that travel to Jersey has been unrestricted.

“This decision aligns with the de-escalation of COVID-19 measures and is a big move in the right direction as we begin to live with COVID-19. The suspension of measures is in line with the latest advice from STAC and our Public Health officials and is proportionate to the much lower levels of risk in Jersey.

I know many families have travel plans booked for over the half-term break and will immediately benefit from this suspension. Additionally, it will make it much easier for those students returning home from university.

I would like to thank all of the staff who worked so hard over the past two years to design, manage and operate our border policies and testing; our Safer Travel Policy received international recognition and was only possible thanks to the commitment from staff and cooperation from Islanders.” - Senator Lyndon Farnham.

Islanders heading elsewhere are still being encouraged to check the local Covid restrictions wherever they're travelling to.

QR codes to prove someone has been vaccinated are still available on gov.je, or through the Covid helpline.

Other changes to take effect today include the end of the government's contract-tracing programme.

"Islanders who test positive will be advised to notify the individuals they have been in contact with and advise them to start 10 days of LFT tests. It will also remain possible to notify close contacts via the Jersey COVID Alert proximity app." - Government of Jersey.

The government is asking all children aged 3 and above to take a Lateral Flow Test everyday before going to nursery, school or college.

Children under three are asked to home swab at least twice a week.

“Replacing the need for schools-led contact tracing by asking children to test before attending school will effectively detect COVID-19 cases.

Taking a LFT before leaving home is more likely to result in identifying COVID-19 positives in students and staff, rather than one-off PCR tests. This change will also mean the faster detection of positive cases and replaces the need for contact tracing because of ongoing universal screening.” - Dr Ivan Muscat, Deputy Medical Officer of Health.

Negative LFT results no longer need to be reported.

If a test is positive, the result should be submitted on the online portal and a confirmatory PCR test booked.  The isolation period begins from the date the LFT result was entered online.

Isolation requirements for children with Covid-19 can be found here.

966 Jersey pupils tested positive for the virus in the last week of January, along with 86 members of staff.

Mark Oliver, Jersey President of the NEU teaching union says, although daily testing puts an added burden on busy parents, it is necessary given that infection-rates in schools remain high:

"Families are under an illusion that Covid is done, but actually the evidence in school is that Covid is still a significant issue and there are still a number of students that are picking it up on a daily basis - hundreds."