As coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to spread around the globe, both Jersey and Guernsey’s health officials have released updated advice for those looking to travel to and from affected countries as well as those who have recently returned from trips abroad.
Tenerife
Following the diagnosis of a coronavirus case at a Tenerife hotel, three women from Jersey have been quarantined at the four-star H10 Costa Adeje Palace in the south west of the island this week. A direct flight from Tenerife returned to Jersey on Monday 24 February, which may have had people travelling who stayed at the affected hotel on board.
Jersey’s health officials say that anyone who has returned from the affected hotel is asked to self-isolate for 14 days after the date they left Tenerife, whether or not they have symptoms of coronavirus.
Anyone who has returned from the affected hotel in Tenerife and who has symptoms of coronavirus is asked to self-isolate and call the helpline on 01534 445566 for medical advice.
However, anyone who has been in contact with guests who have no symptoms after staying at the affected hotel needs to take no action as does anyone who has visited Tenerife but not the affected hotel.
The helpline (01534 445566) is the first point of contact for anyone who thinks they may have symptoms of coronavirus, and islanders are urged not to attend medical facilities unannounced.
Italy
A group of Guernsey students from the Grammar School were asked to self-isolate this week following their return from a ski trip to the affected northern area of Italy. The advice from Public Health is that households with siblings of students on the ski trip should maintain good standards of hand hygiene and have a very low threshold for the three symptoms – cough, fever and shortness of breath. However, at this stage they say there is no need for siblings or other family members to stay at home.
Anyone else who has visited the specified Italian regions and returned in the past 14 days are also being asked to self-isolate, whether they are exhibiting symptoms or not.
Rest of the world
The UK Government is advising against all travel to Hubei Province, and against all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China, the cities of Daegu and Cheongdo in South Korea, and ten small towns in the Lombardy region and one Veneto region of Italy.
If anyone in the Channel Islands has returned from mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), Iran or South Korea in the last 14 days, they are being advised to self-isolate for the next 14 days regardless of whether they are exhibiting symptoms.
If anyone has returned from Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, or other parts of Northern Italy over the last 14 days and is showing even mild symptoms (of fever, cough or shortness of breath), they are being asked to stay indoors and contact Public Health on 01481 725241 in Guernsey or 01534 445566 in Jersey and explain their symptoms. Anyone feeling very unwell should call 999 and tell the operator of their symptoms and travel history.
In both islands, people are asked not to visit their GP or the Emergency Department unannounced.
Channel Islands
All air and sea carriers are operating to and from the Channel Islands as normal.
What is self-isolation?
Self-isolation is the act of separating yourself from physical contact with the rest of the community for a specified period of time. Those who are self-isolating should stay at home and not attend work, school or any other public place where they will come into contact with other members of the public.
There has now been a total of 51 cases of coronavirus diagnosed in the UK and none to date in the Channel Islands.
