WATCH: Key dates from first 12 months of Covid-19
A YEAR ago today came the announcement of the first case of Covid-19 in Guernsey. Here are some of the key dates from the first 12 months of the pandemic.
2020
9 March – The discovery of the first case was announced in Guernsey. A traveller returning from Tenerife tested positive.
19 March – Almost all travellers into the Bailiwick have to self-isolate for 14 days.
25 March – Guernsey enters its first lockdown, after an islander with no recent travel history was found to have contracted Covid-19. At the time there were 23 active cases in the island.
30 March – The island’s first death related to Covid, a person in their 80s.
10 April – Guernsey’s total number of active cases reaches 200, after 19 new cases were found in the previous 24 hours.
15 April – Case numbers slow, with director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink saying the island had managed to flatten the curve.
27 May – Guernsey is declared Covid-free, with no known active cases.
20 June – All restrictions are lifted in the island after widespread testing showed Covid was no longer spreading in the community. Only travel restrictions remained.
17 August – Travellers from low risk areas were allowed to self-isolate for seven days rather than 14.
7 September – The first positive case in 129 days was identified in a traveller to Guernsey, after they took a day seven test. It came as the island started to move back towards two weeks of self-isolation for all travellers.
20 October – A case from an unknown source was found in the island, which led to the discovery of a cluster of community cases. However a successful track and trace operation meant the island did not go back into lockdown and the cluster was brought under control through self-isolation measures.
2021
14 January - A sharp rise in cases in the UK leads Guernsey to only allow people with government-issued permits to travel into the island. Self-isolation had been raised to 21 days, unless a person undertook a day one and day 13 test.
22 January – Four community seeded cases, with no clear source or travel history, were found. The following day, the island goes back into lockdown, with all schools and non-essential businesses closed.
5 February – Alderney’s first, and so far only, case was identified in a person who was self-isolating.
22 February – Guernsey moves into stage one of its exit from lockdown, as case numbers come under control.
8 March – Guernsey moves into stage two, with non-essential retail and restaurants able to reopen. Schools also start to reopen to all pupils.
