The Chief Minister has announced some minor changes to the island's travel rules which will come into force on Tuesday 4th January.

Earlier this month, the government announced that adults will only be classed as 'fully vaccinated' when at least two weeks have passed since they had a booster dose of a recognised Covid-19 vaccine.

It now says 12-17 year-olds will be treated as 'fully vaccinated' two weeks after their second jab.

For anyone in that category, there is no testing or isolation required when they arrive in Jersey.

Senator John Le Fondré during a vaccination media briefing

Under the government's earlier announcement, travellers from outside the Common Travel Area still needed to be tested and self-isolate until they get a negative result, even if they are fully vaccinated. That will no longer be the case.

From Tuesday 4th January, there will be a single rule for all arriving passengers unless they have been in a country on the UK red list. They will still have to isolate for 10 days and take tests on arrival and after 5 and 10 days.

Jersey's travel rules from Tuesday 4th January

Anyone who isn't 'fully vaccinated' can take a PCR test up to 72 hours before travelling and provide proof of a negative result, or have a free one on arrival in Jersey and isolate until the result comes back.

People who have recently recovered from Covid-19 will no longer be able to skip testing on arrival unless they meet one of the government's other criteria.

The Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, says the changes come after evidence that only two doses of the jab offer reduced protection against the Omicron variant among adults:

"We will now also be making some further changes with effect from 4 January. This includes changing the age a passenger must complete a pre-departure travel form from 11 to 12, this is so that it is in line with the age of vaccination eligibility.

Additionally, those passengers arriving from outside of the CTA will not be treated any differently to those travelling from within the CTA. All passengers will be required to have a PCR test at the border and isolate until their day 0 negative test result unless they meet the updated definition of Fully Vaccinated or have completed a pre-departure PCR test."