What is the testing procedure in Guernsey?
As of the 8th April 2020 Public Health Services changed our case definition criteria to allow for more people to be tested and for the identification of more cases of COVID-19. This has been made possible by the availability of on-Island testing and now includes:
Public health are now recommending the following groups are now tested for COVID-19:
- Fever (rigors, chills, can’t get warm, high temp.)
- Muscle ache (fatigue, exhaustion)
- Headache (sinus pain, pain around eyes)
- Loss of smell/taste
- Cough (usually as a late symptom)
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath, chest tightness
To help find and extinguish any ‘missed’ infections and thereby stop the virus taking hold in the islands, end of isolation testing on Day 13 is being offered to travellers, effective since week beginning 16th November:
Planning for surveillance testing within the following groups is underway and will begin as soon as possible (exact groups to be confirmed):
- Staff with highest risk of contact with recent travellers, e.g. aircraft/ferry cabin staff/crew; land-side port staff; taxi drivers; PEH clinical swabbing team;
- Staff at long-term care facilities, including those who do not have direct contact with residents; and
- People working with the vulnerable in the community
Up-to-date information on how COVID-19 testing is carried out on Guernsey can be found here: https://covid19.gov.gg/test-results
The website testing results figures are updated as soon as they are available. At times, results are received late in the evening. However, we endeavour to update the figures the same day.
