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Another weekend has passed with no new cases of covid-19 confirmed in our Bailiwick, while more people have recovered from the potentially fatal corona virus.
Yesterday morning it was confirmed the number of active cases had dropped to just five, with no further deaths recorded.
Pictured: The statistics released yesterday by the States of Guernsey. Since then the number of active cases has dropped further, to just four.
Yesterday also marked 17 days without anyone testing positive for the virus in Guernsey, while Sark, Herm and Alderney still remain completely free of the virus with no one testing positive in any of the other islands of the Bailiwick.
Dr Nicola Brink, the Director of Public Health, said over the weekend that this was down to the "great community response" but she warned against complacency.
Day 16 of no new cases ! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Let’s continue with this great community response. We are doing so well but must not be complacent #GuernseyTogether https://t.co/HrTwEY4fEa
— Nicola Brink (@DrNicolaBrink) May 16, 2020
ABOVE: Dr Brink tweeted Saturday's results, before confirming we reached a 17th consecutive day with no positive results yesterday.
Today marks eight weeks since most pupils started homeschooling helped by their parents, and supported by their teachers remotely, and Wednesday will mark eight weeks since the Bailiwick went into lockdown to contain and delay the spread of covid-19.
Further details are expected to be released this week about the plan to get children back into the classroom - with primary school pupils beginning a phased return from 8 June. Some College of Further Education students will also return next month, while no dare has yet been set for secondary pupils to return to school.
Teachers continue to provide distance learning while the children of essential workers, or students deemed vulnerable are continuing to attend lessons.
The islands also saw a relation of some of the other lockdown restrictions over the weekend as we began to move into phase three.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby, President of the Committee for Health & Social Care said there'll be a further relaxation of some of the measures if the number of active cases continues to go down.
"As I said on the 5 May, we know we are asking islanders to do slightly different things each time we move into a new phase. The things that we have included in this ease into Phase 3 represents another step towards near normal levels of activity.
"The way the community have supported the strategy so far means we have moved into the next phase quicker than expected. If we continue in the right direction we hope to include the final elements of Phase 3 in the next couple of weeks."
Pictured: The number of new cases has not increased for 17 days and the number of active cases has improved daily as more patients recover.
Deputy Gavin St Pier, Chair of the Civil Contingencies Authority said:
"This early move into Phase 3 represents another really positive step forward for the Bailiwick. As always, we are having to strike a balance between managing the public health risks and consequences of COVID-19 against the wider health and welfare interests of the Bailiwick which obviously includes consideration of the economic consequences of the lock down and its impact on jobs, incomes and businesses.
"It is in all our interests that we end the lock down as quickly as we safely can, which is why it will be done in a series of calibrated and controlled steps, not one big leap of faith. We will continue to be led by the evidence of COVID-19 in our community and our public health data. Whilst the current evidence leaves the Bailiwick in a really strong position, with every expectation that we can progress more quickly through the exit phases than we might originally have hoped, we will not hesitate to take a step back if we see unexplained evidence of community seeding or clusters developing. I sincerely hope that will not be necessary, especially if the whole community continues to follow the guidance and regulations."
Director of Public Health, Dr Nicola Brink said:
"Our strategy remains the same 'test, trace and quarantine'. It continues to be effective as evidenced in the lack of new positives and the low number of active cases.
"Islanders will see from the daily statistics that we are still testing people on a daily basis. Some of these will be symptomatic patients but we have already begun to proactively seek out cases by targeting certain key workers who we are testing regardless of any symptoms of COVID-19."
For more information on phase three of the lockdown click HERE.
Pictured top: The number of active cases has decreased over the last few weeks.
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