Getting Tested

You are likely to receive your results between 24 and 48 hours after the swab has been taken.

When you provide your personal details, you will be asked if you consent to contact by text message. If you agree to this, you will receive a negative result by text.

If you do NOT consent to receiving text messages, or if your result is positive, you will receive a phone call.

Please note that multiple results cannot be sent through to a single number e.g. families or travelling groups. Each individual will instead receive a phone call. Children’s results will not be sent in text message format and a parent or other person with parental responsibility will be phoned.

If you get a positive result, the Public Health Team will inform you of your result and will provide you with all the guidance required. You will be required to remain in self-isolation and will receive a further test at a later stage (usually 14 days after the initial test, providing you have no symptoms) to confirm your status. The contact tracing team will also be in touch to gather further information about your journey, activities and people you have spent time with.

Everyone arriving into the Bailiwick from Wednesday 28 October, including private vessels and aircraft, will need to register their journey on the Travel Tracker. The only exemption to this is intra-Bailiwick flights.

Find out more information about the Travel Tracker, and to create your account, please go to https://covid19.gov.gg/guidance/travel/traveltracker.

Travellers are asked to take a test for COVID-19 on arrival at the port. This will be a self-swab undertaken at the airport or harbour. The Travel Tracker will then be used to register the test, by scanning the barcode on the tube.

Before leaving the port, travellers will need to show their ID and sign the self-isolation acknowledgement form. They must then go directly to the location where they will be self-isolating.

In general, travellers are expected to arrange their own travel for their test, either using their own private transport or a taxi.

If you are travelling onward to Alderney, you will need to complete the Travel Tracker which involves, amongst entering some personal details, listing all the countries and regions you have visited in the seven days before travel to the Bailiwick. This will then need to be presented to a Guernsey Border Agency representative. After this, you will be able to commence your onward travel directly to the location where you will be self-isolating in Alderney.

The test is a PCR swab test which takes up to 24- 48 hours for results to be issued, so if you are not staying overnight on Guernsey and travelling onwards to Alderney without leaving the airport, you won’t get the result until you are in Alderney.

On arrival in Alderney, you are required to travel directly from the airport or harbour to your designated self-isolating address. The restrictions on travel and the rules regarding self-isolation and the period of passive/enhanced passive follow up will be the same as in Guernsey. More information can be found at https://covid19.gov.gg/guidance/travel/phase5c.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey has achieved consistent, sustained control of the virus that causes COVID-19, but it remains vulnerable to re-introduction, particularly while surrounding jurisdictions are experiencing high prevalence rates of infection.

The testing programme for travellers has been developed to mitigate the risk of reintroduction of COVID-19 with the dual aims of: 

• Detecting more infections in travellers before they can be spread to the community; and
• Achieving early detection of any escaped cases/clusters, which can be targeted with the test/trace/isolate processes to interrupt any ongoing transmission and snuff out outbreaks before they lead to widespread community transmission.

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. This is to detect late presenting infections and is in line with ECDC guidance. 

Testing on day 1 and day 13 will allow those on the scheme who receive a negative day 1 and day 13 test result to leave self-isolation immediately, though those tested as part of a family or group will have to wait for each member to receive a negative test result. More information can be found on the travel link below, and further information and conditions of participation will be provided to those who take part.

Whilst there is benefit to travellers of taking a day 13 test, it presents a significant benefit to the community by picking up late presenting infections before the end of the self-isolation period.

https://covid19.gov.gg/guidance/travel/general

If you have no transport of your own and cannot access a lift to the testing centre at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital from a member of your household and have no symptoms of COVID-19 (a new continuous cough, a sore throat, muscle aches, headache/sinus pain, a fever, a high temperature, shortness of breath) you can use a taxi. 

When booking, you must inform the taxi company that you are booking to go for a COVID-19 test at the hospital drive-through. You must also: 

• Wear a face mask throughout the journey
• Sanitise your hands before entering the taxi
• Keep the car windows down throughout the journey
• Follow other instructions given by the taxi driver
• Sit in the back seat behind the driver

On arrival at the PEH the taxi driver should drive into car park C where they will be greeted by a porter and directed into the drive through testing centre. Both passenger and driver should remain in the vehicle until directed otherwise.

When the taxi is in the testing facility the person requiring a test will be asked to step out of the taxi and informed where to stand/sit for the test to take place. The individual being tested must keep their mask in place until instructed to remove it by a member of the testing team.

Once the swab has been taken the individual must replace their mask and sanitise their hands. They should then get back into the taxi and continue to follow the above guidance until they are back at their place of residence.

The States of Guernsey do not endorse any particular company. A list of taxi operators currently doing testing facility journeys can be found in the download below.

Enhanced passive follow-up means the person: 

• cannot go to indoor venues such as restaurants (including those offering al fresco dining), clubs, cafes, pubs, gyms, swimming pools, theatres or cinemas
• can only go to indoor shops for the purpose of buying essentials such as food or toiletries
• must not attend any gathering of more than 10 people
• if they attend any gatherings of fewer than 10 people, it should be in a room exclusively used by that group with controlled toilet facilities and a record should be kept of those attending for 14 days
• cannot use public transport, unless it is a taxi with the appropriate mitigation in place to protect the driver
• if they work in public facing roles (i.e. retail assistants, receptionists, teachers etc) cannot return to work while under enhanced passive follow-up.  Other workers should inform their employer to ensure they carry out a risk assessment and put in place and necessary measures.  Children in enhanced passive follow-up cannot go to school
• must at all times be vigilant for symptoms, however mild, of COVID-19; must report any such symptoms immediately to Public Health; and must comply with any instructions given by Public Health thereafter (which may, for the avoidance of doubt, include an immediate resumption of self-isolation)
• must not enter a nursing, care or residential home without the prior agreement of the manager of the home, received after having informed the manager of the home of their status as being subject to these restrictions and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health
• must not, other than in an emergency, enter the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, and in an emergency must give prior notification of their status as being subject to these restrictions before entering the Princess Elizabeth Hospital if reasonably practicable in all the circumstances and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health
• must inform any other healthcare provider (for example, a doctor, optometrist or dentist) of their status as being subject to these restrictions when making any appointment for care
• must, so far as reasonably practicable, keep a record of people met and places visited (to assist with contact tracing if necessary); and
• must comply with any additional conditions and restrictions imposed from time to time by the Medical Officer of Health.

Anyone in enhanced passive follow-up is strongly advised to where a facemask and practice social distancing when they are outside their home, including at work. They should also always observe good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette.

Passive follow up means a person:

• must at all times be vigilant for symptoms, however mild, of COVID-19; must report any such symptoms immediately to Public Health; and must comply with any instructions given by Public Health thereafter (which may, for the avoidance of doubt, include an immediate resumption of self-isolation);
• must not enter a nursing, care or residential home without the prior agreement of the manager of the home, received after having informed the manager of the home of their status as being subject to these restrictions and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health; 
• must not, other than in an emergency, enter the Princess Elizabeth Hospital, and in an emergency must give prior notification of their status as being subject to these restrictions before entering the Princess Elizabeth Hospital if reasonably practicable in all the circumstances and should not return to work there unless they have an agreed method statement with Public Health; 
• must inform any other healthcare provider (for example, a doctor, optometrist or dentist) of their status as being subject to these restrictions when making any appointment for care;
• must, so far as reasonably practicable, keep a record of people met and places visited (to assist with contact tracing if necessary); and
• must comply with any additional conditions and restrictions imposed from time to time by the Medical Officer of Health.

A person may enter the Princess Elizabeth Hospital to visit a patient who is seriously ill if the management of the hospital agrees and if a method statement has been agreed with Public Health.

In terms of school attendance, any student who has received a negative COVID-19 test result from their day 7 test (Category 2 countries and regions) and moved into the 7 day passive follow-up phase is able to attend school. 

You are likely to receive your results between 24 and 48 hours after the swab has been taken.

In the form you fill out with your personal details, you will be asked to tick a box if you consent to contact by text message where your result is negative.

If you do NOT consent to receive a text message, or if your result is positive, you will receive a phone call.

Please note that multiple results cannot be sent through to a single number e.g. families or travelling groups. Each individual will instead receive a phone call. Children’s results will not be sent in text message format and a parent or other person with parental responsibility will be phoned.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey has achieved consistent, sustained control of the virus that causes COVID-19, but it remains vulnerable to re-introduction, particularly while surrounding jurisdictions are experiencing high prevalence rates of infection. 

BETS has been developed to mitigate the risk of reintroduction of COVID-19 with the dual aims of:

• Detecting more infections in travellers before they can be spread to the community; and
• Achieving early detection of any escaped cases/clusters, which can be targeted with the test/trace/isolate processes to interrupt any ongoing transmission and snuff out outbreaks before they lead to widespread community transmission.

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

If you are travelling to the Bailiwick with a self-isolation exemption as a Critical Worker you MUST register using the Travel Tracker and state your travel history for the 7 days prior to travel - please select the 'no test - 14 day self-isolation' option.

If you have an approved critical worker form, please check the testing requirements listed. If your form states that you need a Day 1 test, this must be booked through the scheduling team and carried out at the PEH and not done as a self-swab at the airport or harbour. If a Day 1 test is not a specific requirement of your approved form, but you wish to self swab on arrival at the airport or harbour, you are welcome to do so but please be aware this test will not alter the conditions of your critical worker exemption. It is your responsibility to book your day 1 test prior to travelling to Guernsey. Failure to comply with the terms of your exemption paperwork will result in you being subject to mandatory self-isolation for 14 days on arrival in the Bailiwick.

On the day of travel you MUST have your exemption paperwork with you. This should be shown to the Welcome Team or the Guernsey Border Agency on arrival in the Bailiwick. They will let you know what you need to do at the port to meet the conditions of your exemption(s) and to fulfil your legal self-isolation requirements.