£5 million investment in track and trace infrastructure

Friday 29 January 2021

The States of Guernsey has set a budget for just under £5 million for its track and trace capabilities.

It has been emphasisedthat the enhanced track and trace program is central to Guernsey’s efforts to find and eradicate the corona virus from the island.

The testing centre at the PEH has doubled in size and that facility alone has the capability to test more than 1,000 a day.

Pictured: The testing tent at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital was extended by 4.5 metres to allow for more efficient testing.

This has obviously come at significant cost to the States of Guernsey, which was already facing a bill from the pandemic of nearly £120 million before the second lockdown even took place.

However, we’ve been told that the States is still within its original budget earmarked for the track and trace programme. 

“We initially set quite a substantial budget of just short of £5 million across the whole range of our testing capabilities,” said States CEO Paul Whitfield.

“We’re still operating within those guidelines.”

Pictured: Mr Whitfield updated the public on the costs of ongoing testing during the Civil Contingency Authorities' first virtual briefing.

It has also been stressed that the millions of pounds spent on tracing the route of the virus, through staff, time and equipment, is not just expenditure, but an investment in the community's welfare. 

“It is an investment, we’re not just throwing money,” said Policy & Resources Vice-President Deputy Heidi Soulsby. "The resources we have in test, track and trace are phenomenal.”

Finally, the Director of Public Health, Dr Nicola Brink, has highlighted the returning staff from within the States’ own ranks, who have been redeployed during the pandemic.

People who were trained during the first lockdown to help in the track and trace programme are re-utilising those skills to help the island the second time round.

“We have resources within the States of Guernsey that are being deployed to an emergency situation,” she concluded.