What is Jersey's 'Emergency Brake' and how does it work?
As concern grows about an increasing number of cases of the 'delta variant' of coronavirus in the UK, Jersey's government has applied new measures to some regions in its travel guidance. The so-called 'emergency brake' has been introduced to try and minimise the risk of variants of concern entering the island's borders while the rollout of the vaccination programme continues. In May, Jersey's government scrapped its system of regional classification and instead opted to classify each country of the UK individually. However, with numbers of the delta variant of Covid-19 (formerly known as the Indian variant) rising in some parts of each country, the government decided to apply the so-called 'emergency brake' to these areas. This means that each area where this is applied are treated as 'red' under Jersey's border rules  The emergency break policy has been designed to work with the national travel classifications to continue safe travel. Regions which are identified as having a high positivity rate or/and the presence of variants of concern, under this policy, can be tailored to reflect the higher risk they present. Dr Ivan Muscat, Jersey's Deputy Medical Officer of Health  Reclassifications take place twice a week and last for a minimum of 14 days. Anyone who has stayed overnight in any of region where the emergency brake has been applied must complete at least ten days of self-isolation upon entering the island, taking PCR tests on arrival, day five and day ten - and only being free to leave if they receive a negative result from each. The rules for the emergency brake apply to all arrivals from red regions, regardless of whether or not they have been fully vaccinated. Passengers arriving from Amber and Green regions in the Common Travel Area, who can prove they have been fully vaccinated, will not have to isolate under the government's vaccine certification scheme. The government will apply the emergency brake if it sees worrying trends in the spread of coronavirus in those areas. This can mean high case numbers, high rates of increase in cases or possibly both. It can also be applied if a specific area has a known outbreak of a variant of concern. The criteria for applying the emergency brake is as follows: