Jersey's Nightingale hospital to stay open until March

Jersey's Nightingale hospital will remain open until March next year.

The original lease at Millbrook Field ended on 31 July, but health officials said experts advised them to keep it in case there was a second wave.

The island currently has 11 known active cases of the virus. Ten days ago it registered five new cases, the highest daily number in three months.

Health minister Richard Renouf said the "insurance policy" would be "reassuring" over the winter months.

"The Nightingale Wing offers us security, and the knowledge that, if we are to face a second wave of Covid-19 in the island, we have the infrastructure in place to look after our patients," he added.

The hospital was opened by the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, via video link in a virtual ceremony on 11 May.

The £14.4m project was completed after four weeks of work and can accommodate up to 180 patients needing critical care, although would only be used as an overflow if the island's main hospital ran out of beds.

No patients have been treated at the Nightingale so far.