UK arrivals could soon face 14-day self-isolation
FOLLOWING news that a new Covid-19 case has been confirmed in Guernsey, 129 days after the previous positive test, it has been revealed that people returning from England may soon have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival.
England is a Group B country under Guernsey’s travel system at the moment – meaning those coming to the island can have a test on day seven of self-isolation and enter a period of ‘passive surveillance’ if they receive a negative result.
But officials have said this could switch to Group A status, meaning travellers would be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The States of Guernsey said: ‘Italy and Hungary have moved to the Group B watch list. Current data from England means it could shortly go on the Group B watch list, with a possible subsequent move to Group A in the following days.’
A briefing is to be held on Group A and B countries today at 1pm.
Health authorities have stressed repeatedly that countries can move between groups at very short notice, and groups are under frequent review.
Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said the only active case was picked up on the seven-day test after the person had travelled from the UK.
They had complied fully with the self-isolation requirements, had a test on Sunday morning and received the positive result nine hours later.
That same night, contact tracing began.
Coincidentally, the Isle of Man, which has an air bridge with Guernsey, announced that a positive case had been identified there over the weekend.
Dr Brink said there was no link whatsoever between the positive case here and the one identified in the Isle of Man.
She acknowledged that this announcement would concern members of the community but said it was important to remember that Guernsey has robust systems in place to identify cases and then track and trace any contacts.
‘The identification of this positive case gives us confidence that these systems are working correctly,’ she said.
‘Prior to Phase 5b, with a 14-day self-isolation requirement in place, we would not have identified any positive asymptomatic cases entering the island as there was no testing required.
‘So it is statistically possible that we’ve had other cases but with no symptoms or testing, we’ve not identified them as we have with this case.
‘The effectiveness of our self-isolation regime means we’ve not had any second generation cases and that the Guernsey public is at little more risk than before we brought in seven-day testing.’
The person who tested positive is reportedly doing well currently and has complied with the mandatory self-isolation requirements.
Islanders are reminded that with the vast majority of case – more than 80% – infection with the virus causing Covid-19 is mild.
Although the Bailiwick had been free of known Covid cases for more than three months, the goal was never to eradicate the virus from the community.
Rather, it was to have protocols and procedures in place to identify cases quickly, and commence contact tracing to find anyone who had come into significant contact with the patient.
n For further information go to the website www.gov.gg/coronavirus.
For clinical enquiries, call the helpline on 756938 or 756969 or email publichealth@gov.gg. The line is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. The email inbox is monitored between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
For non-clinical enquiries, call 717118 or email covid19enquiries@gov.gg. Both are open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
