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With Guernsey and Jersey taking different approaches to their efforts to contain and delay the spread of covid-19, we want to know if you would welcome any relaxation of our borders to allow travel to and from Jersey this summer.
With no confirmed cases in Alderney, Sark, Herm or the private islands of our Bailiwick, and decreasing numbers of active cases in Guernsey, the aim is now to eliminate the corona virus locally.
The islands have moved into phase three of the lockdown measures, with a further relaxation allowing some more businesses to open, ahead of a phased reopening of schools, starting with primary pupils, from next month.
Jersey's lockdown has been more relaxed, with government officials there talking about allowing travel between the island and the UK, to ensure the economy doesn't stagnate for too long.
One Deputy is also trying to persuade Jersey's government to adopt a more Guernsey-style handling of the ongoing pandemic.
Pictured: Deputy Jess Perchard said she would have liked to see a pan-island travel bubble - if Jersey first got its covid-19 numbers down to zero.
If Deputy Jess Perchard’s proposals are voted through this week, Jersey's government will have to draft a strategy to work towards achieving zero cases of the virus locally by early June.
In a report explaining her proposals, the Deputy said that flattening the curve without elimination could involve suppressing of economic activity for up to 18 months, whereas, “if we were to eliminate the virus locally, we could eventually see Jersey and its people experience a life that is somewhat similar to normality while we wait for a vaccine”.
This reflects more closely what has been suggested for Guernsey by Dr Nicola Brink who said recently that the islands could see their borders closed for some time, while life returns to 'normal' within the Bailiwick.
Pictured: Dr Nicola Brink advises a panel of politicians and civil servants who are deciding what next steps to take.
In a statement issued in response to growing calls for clarity over a suggested 'Channel Island bubble', the Civil Contingencies Authority has said opening our borders remains a part of one of the last stages of our phased exit from lockdown.
"Any decision to lift travel restrictions to a particular jurisdiction will depend on the situation there, and the risk it presents to the health and lives of Islanders. This approach is being taken with the Island’s economy in mind too, as the risk of new clusters of cases of COVID-19, or even a ‘second wave’ could set us back to the very first phase of ‘lockdown’, which has serious implications for all sectors," said the statement.
"Clearly this strategy, which has been based on data and the best available evidence, will need to be flexible and may change if and when the evidence changes. But for the time being, our border controls will remain in place, and anyone coming in, who is not exempted as a critical worker, must self-isolate by law for 14 days upon arrival."
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With talk of the Channel Islands instead 'bubbling together', we want to know what your views are, with a simple Yes or No vote.
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