Covid-19: Guernsey holds course on re-opening borders on 1 July

Guernsey will open up to double-vaccinated visitors on 1 July as planned, according to the latest travel guidance from the island.

But unvaccinated 12 to 18-year-olds from the UK and Ireland will need to be tested on arrival, the Civil Contingencies Authority (CCA) said.

It has been criticised for not taking a more cautious approach.

The authority said high vaccine take-up meant little chance of another lockdown or health services being overwhelmed.

States deputy Gavin St Pier, former head of the CCA and former chief minister, said the decision to open up - confirmed in the CCA's latest fortnightly update on Wednesday - would be difficult for the community to understand.

"Despite [the CCA's] best intentions I don't think they have yet managed to explain fully the risks and the implications in terms of the number of cases that we should expect to come into the community after 1 July," he said.

The withdrawal of testing had been "driven entirely by operational constraints rather than by the evidence", he said - a claim the States denies.

He added that it was "a very difficult decision for the community to understand given that all of the jurisdictions around us will be continuing to test the vaccinated on entry to the jurisdiction".

Unvaccinated travellers will still need to be tested and self-isolate until the result is negative.

The only change to the previous plan is the introduction of border testing for unvaccinated 12 to 18-year-olds travelling from the Common Travel Area with fully-vaccinated adults.

A spokesperson for the States of Guernsey said the CCA would continue to review travel rules every two weeks.

They added: "Conscious that rising cases of the Delta variant in the UK mean a growing concern from some members of the community about the planned change to border restrictions, the CCA is keen to reassure islanders that under the travel rules from 1 July, the probability of a third lockdown, or of health services being overwhelmed, remains very low.

"Suggestions that the 1 July travel rules have been designed because of a lack of capacity are totally incorrect.

"Rather, the travel rules have been designed around the levels of risk presented by travellers depending on their vaccination status and where they are travelling from."

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