‘Our resolve to tackle the pandemic is undiminished’
LESS THAN half of travellers coming through Guernsey’s borders are receiving home visits from States’ staff to check that they are isolating.
The authorities are using ‘profiling’ and tip-offs from the public to help determine who receives a visit.
The details were revealed at a public hearing organised by the Scrutiny Management Committee into Home Affair’s handling of the pandemic, in order to learn lessons for a possible second peak.
Home Affairs insisted that the border controls were being enforced with the utmost rigour, and anyone who thought they were above the rules would not slip through the net.
Chief Officer at Bailiwick Law Enforcement Ruari Hardy stressed that the vast majority of travellers understood and accepted the quarantine restrictions, and there were very few who were flouting them.
With regards to moving into phase six of the lockdown exit strategy, Mr Hardy said they would be relying on ‘the consent of the public, rather than a high-profile presence of officers’.
Members of the public have been calling the police to let them know about suspected breaches of the law, and that information has been prioritised and investigated.
A snapshot was given from last Thursday when there were 515 people in mandatory self-isolation and there were 20 home visits.
Mr Hardy also referred to the ‘profiling’ of inbound travellers, but there was no explanation about what this entailed.
Five court cases involving people breaching the strict travel quarantine rules have received a lot of publicity, and Mr Hardy explained that Law Enforcement had been very quick to investigate those cases and bring the perpetrators to court.
The panel of the Scrutiny Management Committee kept asking whether Home Affairs had enough resources to meet the ongoing challenges.
The main message that Home Affairs wanted to get across was one of public reassurance.
Mr Hardy said that while they were stretched he was confident they would continue to cope.
‘We are a very can-do service and we will find solutions.’
A key aspect was that the messaging had been very clear, and the education with compassion approach was working.
Plans are also being drawn up to deal with the expected increase in private yachts and aeroplanes.
‘We are scoping that and making sure that those people are very, very aware.’
The president of Home Affairs, Deputy Mary Lowe paid tribute to the staff who had gone above and beyond and done a difficult job under a fast learning curve.
She stressed that Home Affairs was very much still in the midst of the pandemic, and their resolve to tackle it was undiminished.
‘We still have a huge responsibility to make sure the borders and our community are safe.’
After Home Affairs, it was Education, Sport & Culture in the hot seat under the eyes of the scrutiny panel.
The president of ESC, Deputy Matt Fallaize, said that children and parents had engaged well with distance learning during lockdown, and they were looking into providing additional resources to help pupils who may have fallen behind.
