Surfer Ben free to take to the island’s waves

Any changes will depend on what is happening in the UK and the rest of the world with Covid rates, variants and vaccinations.

A States of Guernsey spokesman said it intended to move towards less restricted travel from July, particularly for journeys to the UK, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

‘It is likely that will mean significant changes from the current travel rules which are based on a “category” system that looks at the prevalence of Covid cases in other countries and regions,’ he said.

‘The new system is expected to put more emphasis on vaccination rates, and if the individual traveller has been vaccinated.’

The update comes as south-east England joined the south-west in Guernsey’s category two, meaning arrivals only need to isolate until they have a negative test result.

The move came as a surprise to everyone – including Guernsey’s Public Health team – as it was due to Public Health England reporting 4,700 erroneous positive results. It has meant the south-east should have been category two from last Friday. Roughly 160 people isolating in Guernsey were affected, many of whom isolated for longer than necessary.

It was a welcome relief for Ben Relph, 22, to be out early after isolating in his shed for six days.

‘I got a phone call from Public Health to check where I had been, and they said I was free,’ said the University of Chichester third year Outdoor and Adventure Education student.

After double-checking that he was allowed to go surfing, Mr Relph got out on the waves to enjoy his new-found freedom.

‘I had a test three days before I travelled, a day before and then on arrival, which all came back negative.’

In early April he left the island to finish his degree, take a surfing course in the south-west and collect his belongings, before returning to Guernsey.

‘To be fair it’s a nice shed, it really wasn’t that bad. I’d say it’s more a summer house – it has a bed, sofa, kitchenette. It’s insulated with an electric heater.’

His mother Dee Relph said: ‘When he came in the house we went “Eww, what are you doing?” then when he explained we gave him a big hug.’

Mrs Relph said the release came at an opportune time, as she had converted the old shed last summer to a working-from-home station and isolation room.

Relaxed restrictions bode well for travel opportunities too.

Blue Islands CEO Rob Veron said the further easing of requirements for inbound passengers was encouraging.

‘We believe there is a great deal of pent-up demand.

‘Relaxations such as this, together with our flexible promise, provide consumers with confidence to book those long awaited trips. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board where of course we continue with our enhanced wellbeing measures.’

An Aurigny spokeswoman said it welcomed the falling case numbers in the UK, which allowed more areas to go into category two.

‘Hopefully customers will gain more confidence in travel soon,’ she said.

Condor Ferries said it was too early to see if there was an increase in bookings.

n The live briefing begins at 1pm and is available to watch on gov.gg/coronavirus or the States of Guernsey Facebook page.