Jersey to double coronavirus swab tests
Jersey is going to double the number of people it tests for coronavirus from Monday.
On average 500 swab tests will be taken a day by 11 May.
The swab tests check if people currently have the virus, as opposed to antibody tests which check if people have had the virus.
They will initially be for health staff and essential workers with symptoms, anyone who has been in contact with a positive care, hospital in-patients and those referred by GPs or care homes.
To cope with the expected increase in workload the contact tracing team will more than double in size.
55 people from 11 May will be responsible for tracing those who have been in contact with someone who has been confirmed to have coronavirus.
The new team will be spread across four sites, as opposed to the previous two, to ‘increase the resilience of the service’.
The announcement follows the announcement of a widespread community antibody testing programme that begins in Jersey over the weekend.