Border restrictions possible after 1 July

The States is aware that Covid cases are rising again in parts of the UK but is still hopeful that borders can be relaxed on schedule.

‘But things are changing quickly and we do have them under review,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

‘There could be changes. We hope there won’t be, but if there are, they aren’t going to be significant.’

It comes as arrivals from south-east England run the risk of soon needing the quarantine for seven days.

Currently people travelling from the region to Guernsey only have to quarantine until they received a negative test result on arrival.

But earlier this week it was added to the category two watchlist.

Only regions that have had less that 30 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days can be in category two.

But the latest States of Guernsey data has shown that after a period of stability around the mid-20s, the more recent three days have recorded 31, 33 and 34 cases respectively.

The number of people dying with Covid has dropped in recent days, with zero UK deaths reported on Tuesday.

But cases are on the rise in many regions.

In the south-east over the last seven days, cases have risen by 127% in Surrey, 109% in West Sussex and 46% in Hampshire. The rises in the Isle of Wight, Kent and East Sussex were slightly less sharp at about 20%.

Another area of concern for Guernsey is north-west England, which went on the category three watchlist earlier this week.

Numbers there have been climbing steadily on the Guernsey scale, having steadily risen from 92 cases per 100,000 to 135 cases per 100,000 over the last seven days.

That has tipped it towards the category four threshold – of 100 cases per 100,000 – for the last five days. If it stays above 100 for seven days it is likely to go into category four, meaning any one arriving from the region will face at least 14 days quarantine. It is most likely to affect those flying from Manchester.

The UK is set to relax its last lockdown restrictions on 21 June.

While the UK vaccination scheme is going strong, the highly transmissible Delta variant – which was first detected in India – has been leading to rising numbers.

The UK had been set to go on the EU’s white list, which would have allowed non-essential travel into the bloc, but that move has been delayed in light of the rising Delta cases.

The next States live Covid press conference broadcast will be on Friday 11 June.