England could become Group A country "in coming days"

Tuesday 08 September 2020

Travellers returning from England could soon have to self-isolate for 14 days, with the States expected to address the situation at a press conference today.

With Covid-19 cases on the rise, England is expected to be added to the Group B watchlist imminently.

Public Health will then keep a close eye on developments before deciding whether England should be moved to Group A, which would double the current seven days' isolation time to two weeks. 

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said any countries with more than 30 cases per 100,000 people over seven consecutive days will automatically be added to Group A, while there are additional Public Health concerns that could also trigger Group A categorisation.

Pictured: The States will host another media briefing today starting at 13:00 to discuss the possibility of England moving to Group A. 

It is not yet known whether England's move to Group A could be accelerated, given how much of local travel is with the UK. 

The States, in a warning message alongside its daily group categorisation update, posted: "Please be advised, current data from England means it could shortly go on the Group B watch list, with a possible subsequent move to Group A in the following days."

Dr Brink has previously said that her team could look at regionalisation as an alternative option to re-categorising an entire country. 

"If there is a large outbreak in a defined region [...] we need to look at regionalisation. We could look at that in England and we could potentially look at that in places like France."