Plans to reopen Guernsey's borders announced

Region and country classifications for people travelling to Guernsey could be reintroduced from 30 April. This means if you are travelling from a location with a lower infection rate, your mandatory self isolation period may be reduced to under two weeks.

The States says this will coincide with all those in the vaccine priority groups one to nine having had the first dose of the jab.

It comes as the government releases the 'Bailiwick Blueprint' which sets out out a timeline for removing restrictions with an estimated date at which all restrictions will be lifted.

Monday 22 March 2021

  • Guernsey will move into Stage 3 of its lockdown exit strategy - providing the Civil Contingencies Authority agree to this on 16 March.

  • The Bailiwick Bubble recommences with no restrictions on inter-island travel.

  • Non-essential travel will be allowed to and from the Bailiwick of Guernsey from Monday 22 March - however the mandatory 14 day self-isolation period will remain in place. That includes passengers having a test on arrival and on day 13.

  • Gatherings of more than 100 people can go ahead - providing a risk assessment is in place and a record of people attending is kept.

Friday 30 April 2021

  • Travel categories will be reintroduced. Some restrictions could remain in place for countries and UK regions where the number of coronavirus cases are high.

  • Risk assessments for gatherings of more than 100 people are no longer required.

Thursday 1 July 2021

  • It is expected Guernsey's borders will be able to safely re-open with a single test on arrival, or pre-travel, being retained. This date is yet to be confirmed and depends on public health concerns.

Guernsey's Chief Minister says there is "light at the end of the tunnel" adding the Bailiwick Blueprint document "provides a series of proposed dates upon which the Bailiwick can move towards a new future where this crisis is behind us".

Meanwhile Guernsey's Director of Public Health says the Blueprint is based on "a reasonable best case scenario" but might not be achieved if there are any "emerging public health concerns such as vaccine resistant variants in neighbouring jurisdictions".

More information on the Blueprint can be found on the Guernsey States website.