Wednesday 17 March 2021
The Civil Contingencies Authority has agreed that from Monday 22nd March, Guernsey will move to Stage 3 of its Exit from Lockdown.
This will mark the end nearly all the remaining lockdown restrictions which were brought in on the 23rd January, after four positive cases of COVID-19 from unknown sources were identified.
Guernsey has seen no new cases for 18 days and there is one active case, a patient being treated at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
When Guernsey moves to Stage 3 it will join the other Islands in the Bailiwick, Alderney and Sark, meaning the lockdown will have ended across the entire Bailiwick. Travel restrictions between the three Islands will be removed.
Non-essential travel into the Bailiwick will again be permitted, however the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days with a test on arrival and test on day 13 remains in place for all travellers coming into the Bailiwick. More robust requirements for where and how arrivals self-isolate have also been introduced.
While on-island there will no longer be mandatory restrictions or requirements to socially distance or wear a face covering, Islanders are still being encouraged to use these preventative measures where appropriate, for example in large crowds or closed environments where there is poor ventilation.
Most importantly, anyone who feels unwell and develops even mild COVID symptoms should not go to work or anywhere else. They should stay at home and report their symptoms to their GP or the clinical helpline on 01481 756938 or 01481 756969.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Chair of the Civil Contingencies Authority said:
"It's a huge achievement by everyone in Guernsey to finally be able to remove the remaining restrictions that have been in place for the past two months. It hasn't been an easy time and my thanks go to everyone for how they have followed the lockdown rules, helped us bring the virus under control and saved lives.
We have not come through this second wave unscathed, and we will not forget the person who lost their life. We will not forget those who are still suffering the health impacts of COVID or those whose mental and physical wellbeing has been impacted by having to lockdown for a second time. But we know without having acted to swiftly introduce the lockdown and without everyone coordinating their effort to stamp out the virus once again, the consequences for our community would have been far worse still. We protected our health service, kept our vaccine programme moving forward and prevented a much higher loss of life.
While we will be keeping restrictions in place at our borders for a little while longer, we are getting closer to that tipping point where more of our community is vaccinated and we can begin to allow more travel. We have good reason to be optimistic as we look forward."
