All UK arrivals in Jersey to require 10-day isolation

All UK arrivals in Jersey will have to isolate until they return a negative Covid result from a day 10 test.

The Government of Jersey said all UK regions would fall under its "red" category from midnight.

The new restrictions will include anyone travelling to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for a day trip.

The changes are expected to remain in place for at least a week, the government said.

Chief Minister John le Fondre said the tighter rules had been introduced as a "precautionary measure" based on scientific advice.

It means UK arrivals will need to be tested three times before they can leave isolation, on days one, five and 10.

Senator Le Fondre assured islanders that they would not be "hard-closing" the borders and residents would not be left stranded in the UK.

More than 40 countries have banned UK arrivals over concerns about the spread of a new variant of coronavirus.

Jersey's Deputy Medical Officer of Health Dr Ivan Muscat said the island would be sending its own samples to Public Health England for testing.

"We are working with the UK to establish whether Jersey has this new strain", he said.

The island currently has 1,019 active cases of Covid-19, with 29 people in hospital.

The government said all eligible care home residents had received their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, making Jersey "one of the first places in the world to vaccinate this group".

About 400 care home staff have also received their first dose, with a further 400 due to be vaccinated on Monday and Tuesday.