Stage 1 of lockdown exit on Monday
GUERNSEY will move out of the full lockdown and into Stage 1 of the exit on Monday, the Civil Contingencies Authority has confirmed.
Lockdown was imposed on Saturday 23 January after four cases of Covid-19 from unknown community sources were discovered.
Since then, the lockdown has made significant progress in controlling what could have been 'an exponential increase' in cases.
The CCA considered whether the move to Stage 1 could be made earlier, but while only low numbers of cases are being identified each day through an expanded testing programme, some cases are still being found where the source of the infection is unclear.
Full lockdown will remain in place for a few more days so further expanded surveillance testing can look to identify as many cases as possible.
However, unless this results in a very extraordinary increase in cases or some other unforeseen development, the CCA is not intending to review its decision again on moving to Stage 1.
Stage 1 allows some businesses who are not able to operate in the full lockdown to resume some business activity, provided they are non-public facing, limit the number of staff working, and staff are socially distanced and follow strict guidelines.
Each household will also be able to 'bubble' with one other household.
Outdoor gatherings of up to five people outside of a household bubble will also be permitted, as long as they adhere to social distancing.
The CCA has also agreed that Alderney, where only one case of Covid-19 has been identified since the start of the pandemic, can move to Stage 1 tomorrow [Thursday 18th].
Chair of the CCA Deputy Peter Ferbrache recognised that this lockdown had been 'far from easy'.
'But the community has done a tremendous job in getting this more transmissible variant of the virus under control.'
As the Bailiwick continues to see cases, especially those where the source is not clear, he warned people to 'tread very carefully'.
Waiting until Monday to move to Stage 1 will give Public Health more time to hunt out as many cases as possible.
'Then, when we do make the move, it is still a very limited 'unlocking' to ensure we do not see another sudden rise in cases,' he said.
'But it's a positive step forward and does allow us to see some of our loved ones again, and allow some parts of the economy to get back to work in a careful, controlled way.'
