Mask wearing at ports (FOI)

To ask the Health and Social Services Department and the Justice and Home Affairs Department, what discussions did they have with the Ports of Jersey recently over the Ports of Jersey deciding to retain mask-wearing at the harbour and airport, and under what legal basis do those departments consider the Ports of Jersey decision to be lawful?

It would be helpful if you could approach anyone who might have been involved. What I’m fundamentally interested in is what is the legal basis for the PoJ being able to impose a “mask mandate” given that it is a publicly owned body and the govt has otherwise removed mask requirements.

The Government of Jersey and Ports of Jersey have maintained a regular dialogue throughout the pandemic including through a weekly COVID-specific meeting. In relation to the position on mask wearing, there was direct discussion between the Public Health Department and Ports of Jersey senior leadership team. Please note that these consultations/ discussions were informal and verbal in nature, and therefore were not recorded in written form.  

The legal requirement to wear masks in enclosed public settings lapsed on Tuesday 1st February 2022. From this point, all businesses and premises have been free to establish their own policies in relation to mask wearing for staff and service users on a voluntary guidance basis or as a pre-requisite to access services or premises. Ports of Jersey has chosen to retain the requirement for members of the public to wear masks within their terminals in the interest of protecting staff and passengers and ensuring service resilience. The decision was also taken as the requirement remains to wear a mask onboard ferries and aircraft, and so wearing one in the terminals is a continuance of that requirement.