Jersey residents and visitors were allowed to travel without special permission from 3 July.

The process of getting into Jersey could take up to three hours, according to Senator Lyndon Farnham.

The island is opening its borders, but incoming passengers will have to submit to a swab test on entry, or agree to isolate for 14 days - the fine for not doing so is £1,000.

"We are going to be welcoming many islanders back home, many friends and relatives will be coming over to catch up, and some new visitors will be arriving in Jersey," said the deputy chief minister.

"I ask people to be patient - the testing and processing process is very thorough, and it could take one to two, possibly three hours because we need to make sure everyone is accounted for," he added.

The government said it's putting the health and wellbeing of islanders "at the front of all decision-making".

Schools in Jersey have recorded attendance rates above 84% after fully reopening on 30 June.

Primary schools have recorded attendance between 96% and 99%, while secondary schools recorded between 84% and 96% for various year groups.

The government said the specific order and frequency of return for each year group is decided by each individual school head teacher, "based on local priorities, physical set up needs and staff availability".

"These figures are extremely positive and demonstrate the high confidence that children, young people and their parents or carers have in returning to school," said Senator Tracey Vallois, the island's Education Minister.

"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of our education staff, students, parents and carers who have made the return to school so successful," she added.

BBC Radio Jersey

Jersey's chief minister suggests the chance of a visitor to the island spreading coronavirus is "low risk".

Senator John Le Fondre was defending the decision to open Jersey's borders, adding the decision was made based on medical advice.

People coming to the island will have to take a coronavirus test, but will not have to isolate themselves while they wait for the results.

He added the "balance of risk" of the policy was about if it was right to "close down" the civil rights of the majority of people by keeping the borders closed.

Mr Le Fondre said: "Asymptomatic people, i.e. those who are not coughing and spluttering, are proven to be less likely to spread the disease, it's not zero risk, it's low risk."

BBC Radio Jersey

GPs in Jersey will not be renewing the temporary roles they took on during the coronavirus pandemic, the organisation representing GPs has revealed.

The Primary Care Body explained this is due to the reduced number of cases of the virus in Jersey and GP's wishes to return to their pre-pandemic services.

During the pandemic the island's private GPs have been employed by the government and subsidies have cut the cost of related fees.

The temporary contracts with Health and Community Services end in August.

Speaking on behalf of the body, Dr James Mair said the recent advertisement, external by the ‘Friends of our new Hospital’ suggesting the Jersey Care Model, external was being introduced was not factually correct.

He added that Dr Nigel Minihane would like to personally distance himself from the comments made within it and wished to reassure patients who were worried about the claims it made.

Condor Ferries will resume its sailings between the UK and Jersey this weekend.

The Condor Liberation will travel from Poole to Jersey at midday on Saturday, in the first passenger service since March.

It follows the reopening of Jersey's borders to non-essential travellers.

A reduced limit of 350 passengers is in place to ensure physical distancing can maintained, the company said.

Travellers will be required to wear face coverings during all future crossings, and check-in times will be extended.

Two "trial" sailings from Poole to Guernsey will also run on 5 and 8 July, Condor said.

It said the services had been agreed with Public Health Guernsey and the States of Guernsey "as part of a controlled trial of incoming and outgoing passenger travel".

Each crossing will carry a maximum of 250 passengers, as directed by the States.

CEO of Condor Ferries Paul Luxon said: "We take the health and wellbeing of passengers and crew very seriously so can offer reassurance that various contingency plans and measures are in place to mitigate any potential impact of coronavirus.

"We very much look forward to welcoming customers back onboard this coming weekend and throughout the summer months."

Driving tests are set to resume in Jersey after being cancelled since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both practical and theory tests will get back under way, although with some new measures.

For practical tests:

• Both the person taking the test and the examiner will need to wear a face covering or face mask
• The windows of the vehicle will need to remain open to provide ventilation
• Touch points in the vehicle will need to be cleaned before each test
• Six tests slots will be available per day, rather than the usual nine

For theory tests:

• Anyone taking a test will need to wear a face covering or face mask
• Anyone taking a test will need to stay 1m apart from other people in the theory room
• The theory test consoles will be cleaned between each test
• Only six candidates will be able to take a theory test at any one time

The airline EasyJet has said it is "delighted" to be resuming flights to and from Jersey from Friday.

It follows States approval for the borders to reopen to all travellers from 3 July.

It means commercial flights to the UK and other destinations can resume for holiday-makers.

British Airways, who have also put flights on for Friday, described it as a "fast-moving situation".

Blue Islands Airline has not yet confirmed when it will resume its commercial flights.

The airline has been providing life-line services between Jersey and the UK for essential travellers during the coronavirus pandemic.

BBC Radio Jersey

Jersey's government has made amendments to the way businesses can claim financial support in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses can now make a claim on the basis that their revenue has reduced by 30% over a three-month period compared to the same period in 2019.

Previously the claim could only be made by comparing one month's turnover to the previous month.

The second change to the scheme allows holiday clubs to apply for financial relief as well.

“This is unchartered territory for the island, its businesses and, inevitably, unforeseen issues arise as we progress," said Senator Lyndon Farnham.

"It is important that the government monitors the impact, is responsive, and is ready to evolve the scheme if necessary," he added.

The scheme will now run until at least August 2020, and remains under review.

The only active case in Jersey, which was discovered on Wednesday, came through the government's workforce screening.

The support worker at a private school works outside of normal school hours so has had no contact with children or parents, a letter to parents set out.

On Tuesday the island marked the first time it had no known active cases of the virus since 10 March.

Despite double the average rainfall in June, the first six months of 2020 was the warmest first half of the year since records began, says Jersey Met.

People travelling to Jersey will be required to complete an online registration form, external before entering the island.

Passengers will have to make a declaration of health, including whether they have Covid-19 symptoms, have been in close contact with someone who is infected, or have contracted the virus themselves.

Travellers will also be required to provide a list of the countries they have visited before departing.

Those who do not fill out the online form "can expect to face significant delays when arriving in the island", the States said.

Chief Minister John Le Fondre assured islanders there was a "robust system in place" for testing arrivals.

Jersey's Council of Ministers will be required to publish and maintain a list of countries designated as "safe for travel", the States has agreed.

Ministers have called for borders to reopen on 3 July, after an attempt to delay the reopening until 10 July was rejected in the States Assembly.

The list will have to include the R value of each country, which measures the rate of infection.

It will also include the testing regime of each country on the list.

Passengers arriving in Jersey will not be required to self-isolate until they receive a negative coronavirus test result.

Members rejected the amendment put forward by the Scrutiny Liaison Committee at a States sitting on Wednesday.

When borders reopen on Friday, arrivals will be allowed to move around the island as usual while awaiting a test result conducted at the island's ports.

Anyone who receives a positive result will be asked to self-isolate immediately.

Jersey has one new known active case of coronavirus, the chief minister has confirmed.

In a letter seen by the BBC, parents at a private school were told that a staff member had tested positive for the virus.

The individual works outside of school hours and had "no interaction with children or parents", the letter reads.

It says a thorough disinfection of the school was carried out on Wednesday evening and the school would be open as normal on Thursday.

Senator John Le Fondre said the infected person was asymptomatic, but did not confirm how they were detected.

On Tuesday Jersey reached zero active known cases, celebrated as a "milestone" for the island by ministers.

The latest statistics from the government are expected to be published later.

The reopening of Jersey's borders on 3 July has been approved by the States Assembly.

The proposal was passed by 34 votes to 10 on Wednesday, following an announcement last week.

Islanders will be allowed to travel abroad to visit friends and family, and tourists will be allowed on to the island.

Under the 'safe travel policy', passengers will be tested on arrival, but will not have to self-isolate while they wait for their result.

However, arrivals will be required to speak daily with contact tracers for 14 days, via telephone calls or text messages.

Anyone who opts out of the border testing will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

Alternatively, those who can provide proof of a negative PCR test within the last 72 hours will not be tested at the border or need to self-isolate.

Senator Ian Gorst said he expected results would be returned within 24 hours on average, but could range from "16 to 28 hours".

Deputy Richard Renouf said it was not "proportionate" to ask people to self-isolate while waiting for their test results, due to "low levels" of the virus found in travellers from the UK under the border testing programme.

He said: "We cannot keep our borders closed in the hope of a vaccine becoming available.

"Any result of continuing to wait for those things will be an exponential increase in harm to islanders."

States members have voted against delaying the reopening of Jersey's borders until 10 July.

Ministers have called for the borders to reopen on 3 July, it was announced on Friday.

Further amendments to the government proposal are currently being voted on by members.

Deputy Richard Renouf said while there was "no perfect solution", delaying open borders was "disproportionate, and indeed its consequences risked doing more harm than good".

BBC Radio Jersey

A senior police officer has defended the decision to advise people how to stay safe now the pubs in Jersey are reopening for drinks only service.

States of Jersey Police said they expected bars and pubs to be busy this weekend as customers can drink in a pub without having to order food as Covid-19 restrictions on drinking have been relaxed.

They urged people to stay with friends and plan how they would get home at the end of the night.

On social media, some people said it came across as placing blame on potential victims of incidents.

Det Supt Stewart Gull said it "was not gender specific".

BBC Radio Jersey

The Co-op in Jersey has increased the cost of its bags for life from 10p to 15p.

The Plastic Free July campaign has started, and Co-op bosses said the aim of the price increase was to limit the amount of islanders buying new such bags each time they went shopping.

It has also launched a reusable bag bin in the Grand Marche, for people to donate bags so others could use them as an alternative to buying one.

A ban on single-use plastic bags is due to start next year.

Andrew Segal
BBC News

Police in Jersey are urging islanders "to keep safe while on a night out" as Covid-19 restrictions in licensed premises are eased.

People can have a drink in a pub from Wednesday without having to order food as restrictions on drinking have been relaxed.

However, Det Supt Stewart Gull said people should take sensible precautions "to avoid falling victim to crime while visiting licensed premises", with police saying that, in the second quarter of 2019 , just under half of sexual offences reported were linked to people on a night out.

Police said they were also asking hospitality workers, including door staff, "to look out for vulnerable people".

Additional officers from States police and honorary police were also to be on patrol and the Street Pastors team was also due to be operating this weekend to help keep islanders safe, they added.