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'Consistent' 12 Hour Test Turnaround From 12 October

Ministers are 'sufficiently confident' that the average time for getting coronavirus test turnaround times down to 12 hours will be done 'consistently' from Monday 12 October.

Deputy Inna Gardiner's proposal is calling for arrivals from green areas to isolate immediately, rather than waiting for the 12-hour target to be reached.

That's set for debate this week.

But the Health Minister, Deputy Richard Renouf, is lodging an amendment to say all swabs can be done consistently on-island, in the lab, within 12 hours by Monday 12 October.

If that amendment is approved, isolation for green arrivals would then be mandatory until they get their first negative test result. That would come into effect from 23:59 on Monday 12 October.

Arrivals from green areas now have to get a test on arrival and on day five, just like people from amber areas.

Amber arrivals have to stay in isolation until a second test on day five comes back negative, whereas people from green areas will be able to exit isolation if their first test is negative.

12 people who arrived at the borders last week tested positive for Covid-19, a small increase compared to recent weeks.

As of last Friday (2 October), the average time to get results back was 24 hours. There are currently 23 active cases in Jersey.

The government is planning to be able to run 1032 swabs per day on-island within 12 hours, which will ramp up to 1548 the following week.

It's expected that the 2000 test a day target will not be reached until at least November.

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