Under-5s To Be Exempt From Gathering Rules

Tuesday, 2 March 2021 12:33

Children under the age of five are due to be made exempt from rules on gatherings in Jersey.

It means they will not count towards the number of people allowed to meet up from different households, which can be no more than ten.

Deputy Richard Renouf says he has already sought medical advice about this.

"Recognising that participation in playgroups such as parent and toddler groups is very important to the development of children under five years of age, as well as being important to their parents or carers wellbeing, I propose exempting under-fives from the gatherings order in the very near future.

"The gathering limit of ten meant that you could have five parents and five children.

"If now we say children under five are not counted, we could have ten parents bringing along their ten children and we think we are at a stage where that is safe to do so and would avoid the harm that is created by the isolation and loneliness that might be felt by those families."

Deputy Louise Doublet says while she is absolutely delighted to hear this news, calling it 'critical', she wants the Minister to consider extending the exemption to under 12s.

That rule has been in place in Scotland and Wales throughout the pandemic.

Deputy Doublet asked Deputy Renouf what additional risks there are for not doing the same.

He says it's about balancing harms.

"It may be that there is not a great deal of risk in children, but of course they already have their social contact within their schools and other daycare settings including afterschool clubs which are not restricted at all. So their needs are being met there.

"It is a balance of trying to keep the rate of infection and the scenarios in which they spread under control."

The government is still advising that all social gatherings, including parties and informal get-togethers, should be limited to the rule of ten.

The Deputy Medical Officer of Health has warned islanders not to use the reopening of pubs, restaurants, and cafes to mix in groups of more than ten.