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The Civil Contingencies Authority has said there is "no intention" to change the Bailiwick’s response to Covid-19 following the UK’s announcement that it will begin a lockdown from Thursday.
Guernsey moved into phase 5c of its ‘exit from lockdown’ framework last week and there are no plans to move out of this phase or make changes to the rules for phase 5c as a result of that decision.
Nearly all UK regions, including all of those with direct links to the Bailiwick, are currently Category 4 - the most restrictive category for travel with mandatory 14-day isolation - due to the prevalence of Covid-19. The main change for travellers from these areas compared to the previous phase of Guernsey's exit from lockdown is that they are now asked to test on arrival.
CCA Chairman Peter Ferbrache said this will continue to be the case when the UK’s lockdown begins.
“The escalating situation in neighbouring jurisdictions, and the UK’s decision to introduce a nationwide lockdown this week is bound to cause concern for some locally, but we want to be really clear that it does not change Guernsey’s response," he said.
Pictured: The States is still seeking clarification from the UK on what impacts, if any, its own lockdown measures may have on people travelling from there to here.
"The decisions made for this Bailiwick are based on our own situation, our own risks and our own measures for testing and tracing and most of all, preventing the spread of the virus locally.
"Our circumstances have not changed at this stage. If at any point they do, we will, of course, assess rapidly what new measures if any are needed, but we are not in that place right now.”
The States of Guernsey is still seeking clarification from the UK on what impacts if any, its own lockdown measures may have on people travelling in or out, or through the UK, to see if this could have any impact for travellers to or from the Bailiwick.
Already, indications are that more people are making arrangements to travel to Guernsey before the lockdown comes into effect, however, the testing facilities at Guernsey Ports are "ready and able to cope" with any additional demand at the borders.
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