Ferry arrivals from France wait three hours for their PCR tests
A THREE-HOUR wait for arrivals from France to get their PCR tests at the harbour is set to lead to procedures being streamlined.
But there has been disappointment at the fact that many of those responsible for the delays were islanders who had not completed the Travel Tracker.
Among those frustrated by the situation on Sunday was Shani Torode and her husband, who arrived in their car from St Malo on the Condor sailing at about 2.50pm. They drove into the queue of arrivals awaiting a PCR test and were stuck there until 6pm.
‘You just wonder why there is so much disorganisation,’ she said, ‘but it’s not the fault of the people who are working there.’
‘We knew we would have to have a PCR test. We were put into two lanes, alongside [arrivals from] Jersey who only had to have their lateral flow test kits.’
She believed the hold-up was due to people who had not been able to complete the Travel Tracker.
‘They should have a special place for all the people who don’t have mobile phones or email who haven’t done the Travel Tracker.’
At one point she said the queue did not move for three-quarters of an hour.
The couple were told that everything would be changing in October when travel restrictions are eased further.
‘But the Travel Tracker isn’t going to change,’ said Mrs Torode.
Having the tests at 6pm meant that they did not get their results until the following afternoon which for some might have meant taking an extra day off work.
‘I knew we wouldn’t get our results before 8am but luckily we could work from home.’
Covid-19 response programme director Richard Evans said that there were a substantial number of people arriving at the port at the weekend who had not filled in the Travel Tracker.
‘My team is continually looking at how we can speed up the arrivals process, and we are looking now at different ways to effectively triage ferry passengers to see if we can avoid a repeat of the long queues seen at the weekend,’ he said.
He stressed that anyone planning travel had to complete the tracker before coming back to the island and not doing so would slow the process down for themselves and everyone else.
‘Many of those coming in at the weekend who hadn’t completed the Travel Tracker were local residents, and that is frustrating as the States of Guernsey and the island’s carriers and the local media have all worked hard to raise awareness about the Travel Tracker,’ said Mr Evans.
‘We’re seeing people arriving who expect someone else to sort it all out for them, and while our welcome team work incredibly hard to be helpful – often while being subjected to abuse – it inevitably slows the whole process down.’
