Guernsey Press

WATCH: ‘We’ll break up Lib Day parties that breach rules of lockdown’

POLICE are ready to break up any house parties, barbecues or other events that break lockdown rules on Liberation Day, according to the Head of Bailiwick Law Enforcement.

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Head of Law Enforcement Ruari Hardy (Picture by Sophie Rabey, 28242104)

Ruari Hardy acknowledged the surreal situation the community will find itself in on a holiday that celebrates acceptance and freedom.

‘Liberation Day to us all is about freedom,’ he said.

‘It is about the fact that we live in a society that respects difference and we enjoy the rights and entitlements that many around the world simply don’t have.

‘However, 2020 is going to be different for we see as a community we are fighting the threat that could still impact significantly upon our health and wellbeing and our economy if we lose the gains that we have made.’

Mr Hardy reiterated that celebrations must comply with guidance to remain inside the two-household bubble and warned that celebrations involving friends, neighbours or family could jeopardise Guernsey’s Covid-19 progress.

‘You do not lose the gains that we have made by breaching the guidance and rules that we are all subject to,’ he said.

‘Law enforcement will be out there on Liberation Day to ensure that we as a community stick to the rules that we all have to keep everybody safe.

‘If you’re planning house parties, barbecues and events that will break the law, we will be there to deal with it.’

Mr Hardy added that neighbouring households could interact on Liberation Day, only as long as they stayed well away from each other, complied with social distancing rules and did not leave their properties.

‘Providing you maintain a distance, providing you are not exchanging food and drinks and you stay within the confines of your bubble and you do not go across the road and meet your neighbours that is actually not a breach of the regulations,’ he said.

‘The problem is when people potentially start drinking, behaviours change and that is the danger. We’ve tried to get across that we’ve given up so much and put such an effort in to get where we are.

‘We don’t want Liberation to be the chink in that armour that takes us back into lockdown or delays the phases we’re talking about.’