CCA issues reminder to test before you travel and check the rules

Thursday 09 December 2021

Anyone travelling off the island is reminded to check their insurance and any covid-19 restrictions they might face at their destination. And those arriving in the Bailiwick are being urged to have a lateral flow or PCR test before getting on the boat or plane.

A pre-travel test is not a legal requirement at the moment, but it is being strongly advised by the States' Civil Contingencies Authority. Anyone testing positive on arrival must immediately isolate for 10 days and there is always a risk of further or modified restrictions being introduced at short notice.

Every incoming passenger has to test on arrival anyway and those testing positive then have to fund the cost of isolating in suitable accommodation.

The States' website describes suitable accommodation for arrivals testing positive as being "separate" with "no shared facilities". 

Pictured: Guidance on isolation is available on the States' website HERE. 

Although the Authority is not yet requiring a pre-travel test, yesterday afternoon it went as far as saying that it was "keen to highlight this possibility to anyone planning a journey to the Bailiwick".

This comes at a time when hundreds of university students are expected to travel home for Christmas and when potentially thousands of visitors might travel to the Bailiwick to see relatives and friends over the festive period.

At the same time, the Authority is recommending that local people who travel out of the Bailiwick should take a pre-travel test before their return journey home. 

Pictured: Anyone entering the Bailiwick is tested on arrival but is also being asked to take a test before starting their journey. 

Anyone travelling out of the Bailiwick for a holiday or on business or other reasons is reminded to make themselves aware of any restrictions they might face when entering their destination country or any countries they have to travel through to get to their destination or to get home again afterwards.

The Authority's latest guidance states that many countries have recently introduced new restrictions in response to the spread of the omicron variant of covid-19. And the risk is now considered high again of restrictions and travel requirements changing at short notice locally, within the Common Travel Area and internationally.

Testing before travelling back home - which often allows identification of positive cases at this early stage - also helps to contain the spread of the virus within the Bailiwick.

"Islanders should also consider the possibility that they may become a positive case, or a contact of a case, while they are away and what the requirements would then be in the country they are visiting," said the Authority. "It is recommended that all persons looking to travel check the coverage of their travel insurance."

Pictured: Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority, which has just issued its latest guidance on testing for covid-19 before leaving or entering the Bailiwick.

The existing testing requirements on arrival into the Bailiwick remain in place - with different rules depending on where the passenger was before arriving.

Anyone who has been out of the island but within the Common Travel Area in the previous 10 days must carry out a lateral flow test on arrival. Those who have been outside the Common Travel Area must take a PCR test on arrival.