Island is declared free of known Covid-19 cases
GUERNSEY’S Director of Public Health has paid tribute to the solidarity of the community, as the island became one of the first places in Europe to declare itself officially free of Covid-19 with zero known active cases.
The final few remaining cases have all now recovered and yesterday there had been no new cases for 27 consecutive days, which meant the Bailiwick has achieved something that very few other jurisdictions have so far managed.
Dr Nicola Brink said islanders should be proud of the achievement, which was only possible because the population had been willing to transform their daily lives to contain the disease.
‘It has really been a community effort, Public Health has felt so supported by the community. When we’ve made recommendations the community has done it, they’ve adhered to the Public Health guidance.
‘We’ve had an amazing response and that’s what’s got us in this excellent position. I don’t think it’s any one individual, it’s all of us together.’
The milestone of zero active cases was realised yesterday morning and Dr Brink said it was met with cheers and a few tears.
‘It’s a really exciting day for us, we had a little socially-distanced get-together break, which was lovely. It’s a real testament to the public health team, but also to the pathology team, to the whole of Health & Social Care, and across that to the central civil service who have been so supportive to us, but also working with Deputy Soulsby and Deputy St Pier has been amazing because we’ve really felt like a single team.’
Despite now having zero active cases, there will be no let up in the testing strategy.
The protocol of test, trace and quarantine has been key to the island’s success in prevailing against the virus.
The island will be taking a significant step further out of lockdown this Saturday when shops, hotels, restaurants, gyms and other public venues are allowed to reopen.
It is anticipated that this could cause new cases to emerge, although Public Health believes all the evidence suggests that the seroprevalence, or the level of disease in the population, is extremely low or eliminated.
President of Health & Social Care Deputy Heidi Soulsby said proactive testing remained vital to managing the virus.
‘As we enter the next phase of expanding our testing programme, I would urge islanders to continue to listen to the public health advice and to come forward for testing if they show any symptoms, however mild, or are invited to be tested as part of the extended programme.
‘Our strategy remains the same.
‘It continues to be effective as evidenced in the lack of new positives and no active known cases.’
Social distancing regulations look set to be eased slightly, with islanders advised to maintain a two-metre distance with others in public, and a one metre distance in ‘controlled environments’ such as school classrooms.
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