Flying home for Christmas?

Friday 23 October 2020

‘Operation Jingle Bells’ has been launched in an effort to support the 400 students who have said they would like to return to the island over the festive period.

The States of Guernsey sent out a survey to the 532 students receiving support from the Higher Education grants team, to assess how many would like to come back for the holidays. Of the 520 responses, 400 said they wanted to return.

Cases of coronavirus are on the rise in the UK, and universities have restrictions in place to reduce footfall on campus. Many classes and courses are currently only available online.

Despite the appetite to return, the majority have yet to make any travel arrangements and 100 said that they were undecided about returning, with many citing self-isolation requirements as a contributing factor.

Currently, the entirety of the UK is in Group A, or Category 4 by the revised classifications in Phase 5c. If UK infection rates persist, students will need to isolate for 14 days when they return in December.

Operation Jingle Bells is underway to bring students home safely this Christmas.

Almost 400 students have confirmed they would like to return to the Bailiwick. Read more here: https://t.co/L4M9XoI555 #OperationJingleBells #GuernseyTogether #SaveChristmas pic.twitter.com/3GqcnsIMm1

— States of Guernsey (@Govgg) October 21, 2020

In the final media briefing of the former Civil Contingencies Authority, former Chairman Deputy Gavin St Pier said students would need to comply with the health requirements.

“We do not want any one of you to be the ones responsible for seeding this virus back into this community,” he said. “There have once again been inaccurate social media comments that the regime at Christmas will in some way be more lenient for students. This is, yet again, utter nonsense.”

Plans for students have yet to be finalised, but information from the survey respondents about the desire to return and relevant dates for travel will help ensure that the available options are available and suit the needs of students.

The new Civil Contingencies Authority comprises of Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache, E&I President Lindsay De Sausmarez, HSC President Al Brouard and Home Affairs President Rob Prow.