COVID-19 updates

The States of Guernsey are publishing a number of statistical reports today as part of their ongoing work to provide high quality data on a wide range of issues related to Bailiwick life, wellbeing and the economy.

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Bailiwick COVID-19 data for early January 2022 supports a conclusion that Bailiwick residents who have not yet had a booster vaccination are currently 3 to 4 times more likely to have a COVID-19 infection compared to those who have received their booster.

Using case numbers from Thursday 6th January and their vaccination status, 2.5% of everyone who had received a booster dose had COVID while 8.3% of all those who had not had a booster were COVID positive.

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The Critical Care Unit (CCU) at the PEH is under significant staffing pressure due to running two operational units: one for COVID-19 patients and one for non-COVID-19 patients.

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The Overseas Aid & Development Commission announced in mid-December that it would match fund the donations from the public to the Guernsey UNICEF VaccinAid appeal. It stated that for every £1 donated by the end of 2021, the Commission would also donate £1, up to the value of £50,000. At that time £40,000 had already been raised thanks to the generosity of Islanders.

By midnight on 31st December, 2021, the £50,000 public target had been reached with a total of £50,352.

Read the media release.

Education has announced a package of enhanced measures that will be in place when the new term begins next week.

While there might be slight variations at each setting depending on their specific circumstances and operational needs, the suite of measures includes:

• All students and staff are asked to ensure they have negative LFTs on the day before they return to their setting and on the morning of each of the first three days of term.
• Schools may implement changes to drop-off and pick-up times to stagger the number of people on-site at any one time.
• Classroom bubbles will be re-introduced for primary schools (last in place earlier this year.
• Classroom bubbles will be introduced for KS3 (secondary school years 7-9).
• Face coverings are strongly recommended in classrooms for secondary and post-16 students, with additional outside breaks worked into the school schedule.
• No off-island trips will take place this term
• No on-island trips from one school to another
• No school-run extra-curricular clubs or activities for the time being

Schools will contact parents and carers to provide further information relevant to the implementation of these measures at their child’s school.

Parents and carers are also asked to continue wearing face coverings when on school grounds, and we thank everyone for the excellent take-up of this last term.

Read the media release.

As a result of increasing COVID-19 cases since the identification of the Omicron variant in the Bailiwick, the way we manage testing capacity will change. From today (Monday 27 December) we will be changing our testing strategy for community testing to focus on using LFTs, which have been proven to be a very reliable diagnostic method.

The new process for anyone receiving a positive LFT result is:

• You must immediately notify the States of Guernsey via either the clinical helpline (01481 220001 or 01481 220002) or the online form at https://www.gov.gg/covidnotification
• You will receive confirmation that you must now self-isolate for 10 days, with a reduction in self-isolation if you are symptom-free and test LFT negative on days 6 and 7. This confirmation will include all the necessary legal requirements and advice, including the steps that must be followed if you are able to release yourself from isolation after day 7.
• PCR tests will no longer be used to confirm positive cases where a positive LFT exists.
• You will be asked to notify close contacts that they are requested to take an LFT daily for 10 days, while also limiting their social contacts during this time.

If you are symptomatic and have a negative LFT then please contact the clinical helpline on (01481 220001 or 01481 220002) or complete the online form https://www.gov.gg/covidnotification, as you may still be referred for a PCR test depending on your symptoms.

Read the media release.

A drop-in testing clinic will be run at the East Arm facility on Bank Holiday Monday (27 December) for patients that test positive with a lateral flow device between now and Monday.

This clinic is being put on to help manage demand for anyone who is LFT positive in the next two days. No resulting will take place on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.  This drop-in session will significantly reduce the pressure on the hospital testing facility.

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The Civil Contingencies Authority has today agreed to alter the mandatory isolation period for people with Covid-19, as long as certain criteria are met.

A 10-day mandatory self-isolation period will remain for all positive cases, however they can be released into enhanced passive follow-up after seven days as long as the following criteria is met:

• The positive case is symptom-free; AND
• They have had a negative lateral flow test on day 6 and day 7

If this is met, the individual can release themselves into enhanced passive follow-up until day 10 when restrictions are lifted.

Read the media release.

Christmas can be a time of enjoyment, relaxation, and being together with families. But it can also bring stresses, and for many people it is a challenging or even lonely time of year.

The impact of COVID-19 this year will again make the festive period especially difficult as some islanders will not be able to celebrate with loved ones.

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The Civil Contingencies Authority and the Director of Public Health are advising Islanders to limit the numbers of people they interact with socially where possible, as a further way of slowing the spread of COVID-19, and especially to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.

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