The potential for a third lockdown is very low - CCA

Thursday 24 June 2021

Adults who have been fully vaccinated will be able to cross Guernsey's borders without any testing or self-isolation from next Thursday, providing they have not travelled outside of the Common Travel Area.

At its meeting yesterday, the Civil Contingencies Authority agreed that proposed travel rules from 1 July should remain broadly the same, with the addition of mandatory border testing for youngsters aged between 12 and 17.

Children aged 11 and under travelling with fully vaccinated adults will have no testing or isolation requirements.  

The CCA will continue to review travel rules every two weeks, in response to the UK's rising cases of the Delta Variant, which has shown a greater resistance to vaccines and increased transmissibility. 

The CCA has sought to head off concerns that the biggest relaxation of Guernsey's borders since the pandemic began will lead to a third wave of Covid-19 locally.

A spokesman said the travel policy is a measured step forward towards "living responsibly with Covid-19", in line with Public Health advice. 

We have administered 78,279 vaccine doses. 57% of our population aged 16 or over have had two doses. 27% have had one dose only.

We continue to have 4 (known) active cases of COVID-19 in the Bailiwick.

Full results at: https://t.co/YpWbg8u3AS pic.twitter.com/DynCr9ZzCI

— States of Guernsey (@Govgg) June 23, 2021

Pictured: According to the latest stats, 57% of all islanders aged 16 or over are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The four known active cases have all been picked up at Guernsey's borders from people travelling to the island. 

"The probability of a third lockdown, or of health services being overwhelmed, remains very low," they said. "This key point in the overall strategy, as we move to living responsibly with Covid-19, is finally possible because of the excellent progress of the vaccination roll-out."

On 11 June, it was announced that the current category system would remain in place on 1 July.

However a newly-introduced 'blue' channel was devised for those who are fully vaccinated - at least 14 days prior to travel - when arriving in Guernsey from the UK, Republic of Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

The Civil Contingencies Authority spokesman said: "The CCA is very aware that this is a significant step forward in reducing dependency on the border restrictions that have been in place since early 2020.

"They were imposed to protect those in the community most vulnerable to serious illness and death from Covid-19, and to prevent our hospital from being overwhelmed.

Pictured: Former Civil Contingencies Chairman Gavin St Pier believes the proposed border policy is a mistake and that the blue channel should be delayed for one month in the face of the UK's deteriorating position. Doing this, he says, would allow significantly more younger people to be double jabbed before some people's border restrictions are lifted. 

The spokesman continued: "Border restrictions like this are an emergency measure that significantly impact on individuals’ freedoms, and as such must always have very good justification for being maintained. 

"As more of the population is fully vaccinated, the risk of serious illness and death and the risk of the hospital being overwhelmed continues to reduce.

"Well over half of all adults (61%) and more 90% of over 50s are currently fully vaccinated, which means the risk to the community is significantly lower than when our current border measures were introduced – even now as the Delta Variant is the dominant variant in the UK."

Travel rules for under-18s: 

The Civil Contingencies Authority has agreed this week the travel requirements that will apply for under-18s from 1st July, when changes to the Bailiwick’s border restrictions come into effect. 

Children 11 years and under travelling with fully vaccinated adults will have no testing or isolation requirements. Children and young people aged 12 to 17 travelling with fully vaccinated adults will need: 

• A self-taken swab on day of arrival;

• Isolation until the result of that test;

• A day 7 test;

• Passive follow-up between the result of the first test and the second.

Recent data from Public Health England shows under-18s are one of the age groups in which Covid-19 infections are most commonly seen.

Guernsey’s Public Health Service have therefore now advised that this age group, which are not currently being vaccinated, should be tested on arrival in Bailiwick.

During the second wave, in particular, transmission through family groups was a common feature of the spread of the virus, which was traced back to primary and secondary schools, as well as high-profile events, most notably the Festival of Dance.