Currently, anyone arriving in Guernsey has to be tested at the port and then isolate for one or two weeks, depending on from where they have travelled.
Given the restrictions, demand for travel in and out of Guernsey is extremely low, which has resulted in a very small number of flights and a limited ferry service being relaunched since the end of the main lockdown period.
During the next phase of the exit, passengers arriving from countries in the group B category, which currently includes the UK and Jersey, will be tested on arrival and, as soon as they receive a negative result, can move out of quarantine and into the stage called ‘passive surveillance’.
This means they will be asked to report any symptoms, no matter how mild.
The turnaround time for people to receive their test result is anticipated to be between 24 and 48 hours.
Those group B travellers will also have a second test on the seventh day.
Passengers coming from group A countries, which currently include France, will be offered a test on arrival but will still have to self-isolate for two weeks, regardless of the test result.
Guernsey’s government has not yet stated when the next phase will begin.
The latest plan for the exit strategy was approved unanimously by States Members this week, although concerns were expressed that the document was written solely from a health perspective, and that businesses had been ignored.
Deputy Charles Parkinson, the president of Economic Development, gave a sobering analysis of the impact on business, saying: ‘The hotel sector in Guernsey is absolutely on its knees. It’s a common expression that it’s experiencing three winters in a row. Many hotels will shut and will not reopen until the beginning of the 2021 season.’
He added: ‘I’ve spoken to some of the hotel owners and representatives of the Guernsey Hoteliers Association and they are desperate people. There is a real possibility that some of these businesses will not reopen at all.’
Deputy Parkinson highlighted the approach taken in Jersey, where there have been over 70,000 tests carried out, with currently only about a dozen active cases.
He said that St Helier was busy, the hotels were full, and the Jersey economy was thriving.
The sister island was also mentioned by Deputy John Gollop, who thought that Guernsey had taken the wisest route out of lockdown, but that the data coming out of Jersey should not be ignored.
