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Guernsey has recorded its first covid case in around four months.
The Director of Public Health, Dr Nicola Brink, announced the identification of the positive case in the island, which has been pursuing a covid elimination strategy and does not have open borders, this morning.
The patient returned from the UK, having complied with travel advice, and went straight into compulsory self-isolation on their return.
Public Health authorities said the case was picked up when the individual was tested on day seven after their arrival. The seven-day swab was taken on Sunday (6 September) and the person was informed of their positive result nine hours later.
Pictured: Dr Brink said the person is "currently doing well" and has complied with the mandatory self-isolation requirements.
Dr Nicola Brink, Director of Public Health, said: "Whilst I know this announcement will concern members of the community, it is important to remember that we have robust systems in place to identify cases and then track and trace any contacts. The identification of this positive case gives us confidence that these systems are working correctly.
"Prior to Phase 5b, with a 14 day self-isolation requirement in place, we would not have identified any positive asymptomatic cases entering the island as there was no testing required. So it is statistically possible that we’ve had other cases but with no symptoms or testing, we’ve not identified them as we have with this case. The effectiveness of our self-isolation regime means we’ve not had any second generation cases and that the Guernsey public is at little more risk than before we brought in seven-day testing."
The news comes after the Isle of Man, which had also aimed for covid elimination, also recorded its first covid case in months. Reacting to the news over the weekend, Chief Minister Deputy Gavin St Pier said this wouldn't deter the island from maintaining its Manx air bridge, which allows for quarantine-free travel between the islands.
Speaking this morning, Deputy St Pier described the fact that both Guernsey and the Isle of Man had found their first new cases in months on the same day as pure coincidence.
Pictured: Guernsey's Chief Minister said that the island would be maintaining its air bridge, which allows for isolation-free travel, with the Isle of Man.
"We always knew we would see further cases of covid-19 in the Bailiwick and have said so many times over recent months," he commented.
"In this case the fact that the patient followed all travel advice and immediately went into compulsory self-isolation on arrival in the Bailiwick means we can be confident we have reduced any risk of its transmission in the community to a point where it is extremely low, which is the whole purpose of the rules we have."
Deputy St Pier continued: "The identification of one positive case does not mean that we will go back into earlier phases of lockdown. It does, however, highlight the critical importance of travellers adhering to the self-isolation requirements on entering the Bailiwick.
"The rules are there, as we have found, for a reason which is why any breach is rightly taken so seriously by Law Enforcement and the courts."
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