Busy start with border relaxation "going as well as could be expected"

Friday 09 July 2021

Early data shows that 2,300 people travelled into the Bailiwick or returned here in the first four days of relaxed border restrictions.

On 1 July, all self-isolation and on-arrival testing requirements fell away for fully vaccinated adults.

The decision has split public opinion, with a number of establishments asking visitors not to enter their premises without isolating.

As of midday on Thursday 8 July, there were 17 known active cases of Covid-19 and a further 26 people in self-isolation as contacts of a positive case. There is no evidence of community seeding. 

Clusters and even outbreaks are something the Bailiwick may have to ride out in order to transition to "living responsibly with covid", says Public Health Director Dr Nicola Brink. 

"We will have cases, we might see clusters of cases, we might even see outbreaks," said Dr Brink.

"But they don’t present the same kind of danger as they did before our vaccination roll-out."

93% of over 18s have had at least one dose of vaccine and 70% are fully vaccinated. That is the key, said Dr Brink, to mitigating risk of infection and transmission. 

With some UK regions experiencing a surge in cases of Covid-19, the CCA met to consider special rules for travellers from the most affected regions. It has ruled against doing so, following the recommendation of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell, meaning the 'blue' channel will continue. 

Pictured: The latest regional categorisations for the Common Travel Area. 15 of the 21 regions are currently in Category 4 for anyone who is not fully vaccinated, meaning on-arrival tests and two weeks' self-isolation. 

Between 1 and 4 July there were around 2,300 journeys into the Bailiwick - 85% of which were ‘blue’ arrivals taking advantage of the lifting of border restrictions if fully vaccinated. 

Dr Brink stressed that border testing is just one arm of the island's response to Covid-19 cases, with tests for people who report symptoms, the capacity for surge testing and continued vigilance by people in coming forward if they are showing symptoms that could be the virus. 

"Going into lockdown is easy, coming out is far more complex," said Dr Brink of the different public opinions about the current border policy. 

"We are balancing the risks to the population with the wider health and well-being - both physical and mental. It is so important to get that balance just right."

"Knowing many of our arrivals are fully vaccinated and present a low risk to the community is important and mitigates any risk"

Dr Brink emphasised that the authorities will continue to look at the latest evidence and will not rule out any change, including imposing additional border measures in the future if needed. 

"We know prevalence is rising steeply in some UK regions," she said. "We did carefully consider whether additional measures for those regions made sense but knowing many of our arrivals are fully vaccinated and present a low risk to the community is important and mitigates any risk."

Another CCA briefing will take place today, starting at 13:00.