Mandatory mask-wearing and tighter travel rules come into force in Guernsey

  • Video report by ITV Channel's Louisa Britton

Face coverings are now mandatory in shops and on public transport in Guernsey.

It follows concern about the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.

At a press conference on Monday (29 November), Guernsey's Director of Public Health admitted there were many "unknowns".

Dr Nicola Brink added that a high number of mutations in the new strain meant virologists were concerned about how existing vaccines might work against it.

No cases of the new variant have been detected in the Bailiwick so far.

FACE COVERINGS

From today (Wednesday 1 December), it will be a legal requirement to wear a face covering in certain settings, including on public transport and in shops.

Areas where masks are mandatory include:

  • All shops, including supermarkets, department stores, pharmacies, garden centres and takeaways

  • Banks

  • Post offices

  • Florists

  • Petrol stations

  • Government-run buildings including hospitals, museums

  • At airports and in harbour terminals

  • On public transport

  • Beau Sejour Leisure Centre, though masks can be removed while taking part in physical exercise

This will not extend to hospitality businesses such as bars, pubs and restaurants but the Civil Contingencies Authority is urging the use of masks in any location where there are crowds, where ventilation is poor or where physical distancing is difficult.

Mask wearing also remains strongly recommended in communal areas of school settings.

Guernsey secondary school students and staff must wear masks in school

Anyone who is exempt from wearing a face covering can use an exemption card and a sunflower lanyard. Details on how to access these are available on gov.gg.

TRAVEL

All arrivals who have only travelled within the Common Travel Area will be required to buy a pack of Lateral Flow Tests for £25, which are to be taken for the following ten days.

Meanwhile, passengers who have travelled outside the Common Travel Area in the past ten days will face a stricter testing regime at the border.

  • Fully vaccinated: Passengers who have been double-vaccinated and have travelled outside the CTA will have to take a PCR test on the day of their arrival into the Bailiwick and must self-isolate until this returns a negative result.

  • Not fully vaccinated: Passengers who have not had both doses of the vaccine and have travelled outside the CTA will have to take a PCR test on arrival and another on day 8, self-isolating until their second test returns a negative result.

Passengers arriving from Red List countries must still take a PCR test on arrival, with a second on day 9. They must self-isolate until they receive a negative result from that second test.

10 countries added to Channel Islands' Red Lists as new Covid-19 variant found
Channel Islanders exempt from needing PCR test on arrival to England

CONTACT TRACING

Under the new restrictions, anyone identified as a direct contact of a suspected case of the Omicron variant must self-isolate for ten days, regardless of their vaccination status.

If it is later determined that the original case has not contracted the new variant, direct contacts will be subject to standard contact tracing rules and must take daily lateral flow tests.