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Guernsey is scrapping the requirement for people travelling from Jersey to have a pre-departure covid test.
From Monday (23 August), Jersey arrivals will be able to observe the same travel requirements as everyone else from the Common Travel Area.
This means that anyone who has been double vaccinated will be considered 'Blue Channel' under the travel rules, which means they won't need to isolate on arrival but will have to complete a course of five lateral flow tests, every other day.
An exception to Common Travel Area rules was made for Jersey in mid-July, and the island was added to Guernsey's 'Category 4', which entailed a pre-departure PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers and 14 days quarantine for anyone not jabbed.
In early August, the States of Guernsey later said they would allow an observed lateral flow test instead of a PCR test.
The Civil Contingencies Authority described the different rules for Jersey as "temporary" and said they came in light of rising cases in Jersey and the recent change in policy for direct contacts of cases. At the time, there were more than 1,800 active covid cases and more than 10,000 direct contacts.
States officials explained that there were "significant volumes of traffic between the two islands" and there was a concern that, because roughly 9% of Jersey's population were caught in the direct contact net, around one in 10 arrivals into Guernsey may be a direct contact.
Pictured: Jersey's covid statistics at the time Guernsey made its decision.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache insisted at the time: "This decision is in no way a criticism of Jersey’s strategy. Jersey’s situation is different to ours and they are making decisions appropriate to their unique circumstances.
"However, Guernsey’s strategy is dependent on carefully managing increased travel, identifying cases and clusters at risk of spreading further and keeping them under control.
"That’s been effective for us so far with our case numbers low, numbers in self-isolation also low, and no hospitalisations, more than two weeks since we relaxed our border policy. But we must still tread with some caution and apply proportionate measures where we see the greatest risks, as we continue to manage our way forward.”
CLICK HERE for more information about current travel rules.
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