Four people have been charged in relation to the destruction of a wreath laid at the Bailiwick War Memorial on Liberation Day.

After the destruction flowers were laid at the site by islanders and a new wreath was laid.

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink confirmed antibody tests would be given to healthcare workers from next week.

Dr Brink said they had confirmed the efficacy of their tests through samples from known Covid-19 patients.

They will initially focus on "front-line health workers", but will be expanded into more groups in the coming weeks.

Retrospective tests on people who had symptoms, but tested negative previously, and contacts of known cases were two groups Public Health were particularly interested in testing, she said.

The Government of Jersey continues to have a "good working relationship" with Guernsey, the chief minister of Jersey has said.

He was responding to a question in a coronavirus media briefing that suggested Deputy Peter Ferbrache had referred to Jersey politicians as "a bunch of bumbling idiots" in the Guernsey States assembly.

Senator Le Fondre said: "We don't tend to base the status of the relationship between Jersey and Guernsey, which I would say is very good, on the somewhat emotional and ill-informed comments of an individual member of the Guernsey assembly."

He said while the islands pursued different strategies in dealing with coronavirus, the two States continued to work "very closely" together.

People self-isolating in the build up to surgery can do so with a friend or relative, so long as that person is doing it alongside them, Dr Nicola Brink said.

She emphasised the situation would not allow for the other person to "pop in and out".

"We understand that a lot of people will find it extremely difficult.

"I speak to a lot of people in self-isolation and it is a difficult time.

"So long as that person adheres to the same self-isolation rules, then that's totally acceptable."

Dr Nicola Brink and States chief executive Paul Whitfield answered more questions sent in by Bailiwick Children.

Ellie, 12 asked - How different will high school be for walking around? Am I allowed to sit with my friends?

Mr Whitfield confirmed to Ellie secondary schools "will feel a bit different" as children are kept in bubbles to keep them safe.

He said year groups would be kept together, asked to wash their hands more and likely take different break and lunch times to each other.

"Within your year group you'll be able to socialise and talk with your friends."

No name was attached to the question - Am I allowed to have a sleepover at a friend's house?

Dr Brink said children should "have a chat to their mum and dad" about sleepovers and it would depend if they had already been in the same bubble.

"If you weren't in the same bubble, I would say it's probably a no for now.

"But again, things are moving fast so we think that certainly by the time we get to the summer holidays things will be a lot different."

Jack, 10, asked - Am I allowed to play football with my friends at lunchtime?

Dr Brink told Jack as football was a contact sport, it was not allowed for now but would be "in a few weeks time" when Phase Five should begin.

She suggested people think of games where people can "stay away from each other" like cricket or rounders.

"It's still a team sport, you can still have fun, but you just don't crash into each other."

Reuben, 6, asked - "Where did coronavirus come from?"

Dr Brink told Reuben that nobody was sure, but she thought the virus came from bats.

She explained scientists believe the virus affecting us now, Covid-19, went through an "intermediate host", which is another animal people may have touched or been around, which is this case may have been the pangolin.

Dr Brink said: "We think it probably happened in a city in China called Wuhan, and probably related to some of the markets where there's close contact between animals and humans."

Tyler, 7, asked - If the virus comes back will we have to stay at home again and learn there?

Dr Brink said she hoped the virus wouldn't come back and "things were looking good", but there was a "small chance" it could.

"If it does come back, there is the possibility that you'd have to learn from home again."

"We're going to do everything we can to stop it coming back," she added.

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink has answered questions sent in by children from around the Bailiwick.

Aiden, 9, asked - Is it safe to go to school, I'm worried I'm going to get Covid-19 and be very poorly?

Dr Brink acknowledged the worry and assured him they would not have opened the schools if "we didn't feel it was safe".

"The mums and dads I've spoken too within Public Health, all of their children are going back to school."

However, Dr Brink said Aiden was right to bring up feeling poorly and "it is really important if you don't feel well, you don't go to school".

Noah, 9, asked - Will i have to social distance from my friend, even if I really want to play with him?

Dr Brink told Noah that "going back to school will be slightly different" and he would have to keep his distance from friends.

She said: "However, there will be lots of games that you're going to be able to do."

"Your teachers will have been thinking really hard about different games you can do and perhaps keep that bit of distance between you and your friends."

Eliza, who's in year two, asked - Why can't I see my older brother at play time?

Dr Brink explained they were trying to keep children in "bubbles" of class groups during break time.

"What we don't want to do is mix two different class groups together.

"If you really want to see your brother, what you can do is just ask your teacher if it's possible to see him, just you and your brother together."

Poppy, 8, asked - When will be able to hug people?

Dr Brink said it "should be soon" and they were "trying to keep that little bit of space" between people for now.

"I know that it's different and I know that it is tough.

"When you see your friends you're going to be really excited and want to hug each other, but we're just saying for the moment if you could keep a little bit of space.

"What I would suggest is you all develop great big air hugs and it would be really nice if you all air hugged each other."

Deputy Gavin St Pier has said rebuilding Guernsey after the coronavirus pandemic will require investment and a "commitment" from the States to provide money.

Addressing the idea of 'Building Back Better', the President of the Policy and Resources Committee said many islanders had written to him about improving cycling infrastructure.

Mr St Pier said the States had to "seize the opportunity", given the clear "desire of the community for change".

"It is going to require some political commitment, but also the funds to make it happen," he added.

Mr St Pier argued Guernsey's successful response to the pandemic had caused an increase of optimism in the community, following the "recognition" of what the island had achieved.

"That gives us a buoyancy that will really help our recovery," he said

Guernsey's borders will remain shut as long as the UK has a "high prevalence" of coronavirus, Deputy Gavin St Pier said.

The chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority explained because the majority of people arriving would be from the UK, where the situation "remains a significant concern and risk" of reimporting the virus.

He said: "We will keep it under review... but the priority has to be to do it safely."

Mr St Pier added he had spoken to the High Commissioner of New Zealand in London about the issue, because of the similar paths and problems both jurisdictions face.

"Hopefully we will be able to work with them, that's something we're very much looking at to see if we can develop some kind of common protocols and understanding of risk," he said.

People having to self-isolate in Guernsey must also isolate themselves from other members of the household, Dr Nicola Brink has reminded islanders.

Anyone self-isolating should stay in one room in their home as much as possible, use the bathroom last after others, and eat meals separately to household members.

"Self-isolation is not just staying at home. It's exactly what it says. It's self-isolation by yourself and staying away from everyone else," Dr Brink said.

She said this would help to prevent cases from being "imported" into the island.

Public Health are "preparing for the rest of this year", as the island is into its 36th day without a new case of coronavirus, Dr Nicola Brink said.

The director of Public Health said it would be "remiss" of them not to prepare for a second wave and outlined three other areas they were examining closely.

These include the occurrence of an individual case, a cluster of new cases and planning for the winter flu period.

Dr Brink said: "We're looking at how we can do Covid testing alongside testing other respiratory viruses in the winter."

She emphasised the importance of "preventative and preparatory work", including flu vaccinations.

A new piece of equipment to ramp up testing capacity to about 400 a day is expected to arrive in a week to 10 days, Dr Brink confirmed.

She also revealed the States had started their "extended surveillance programme" early and had begun testing asymptomatic people.

These tests of about 600 people and found no positives.

This combined with a lack of reports from either primary care or hospital patients, indicates "little or no activity" of Covid-19 on the island, she said.

Pupils' return to Guernsey schools on Monday will be a "day of celebration", the States chief executive has said.

Paul Whitfield said teachers were "looking forward" to welcoming children back to both primary and secondary schools in the island.

He encouraged families to walk or cycle to school in order to ease traffic near schools and in school car parks.

"We know it's not feasible or indeed practical for everyone, but it would be great to see as many as possible getting to school in this way," he said.

Mr Whitfield also urged drivers to be aware of increased numbers of pedestrians as pupils make their way to and from school.

About 90% of States of Guernsey services are now being provided online or over the phone, chief executive Paul Whitfield confirmed.

Mr Whitfield said the civil service were reviewing where there was the greatest need to resume seeing people in person, with the "increased capability" of call centre and online services.

He said: "In providing any necessary face-to-face counter service, we're reconfiguring provision to reduce our service to fewer sites."

More details will follow next week and anyone with further questions should "call or contact the relevant service", Mr Whitfield added.

Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital is returning to something resembling normality, the States medical director has revealed.

Dr Peter Rabey said there had been a big increase in "face-to-face" patient interactions and Emergency Department visits were up "which is good news".

"It means people are having confidence to come to the hospital when they need to," he added.

Addressing people's concerns over an expanded waiting list for treatment, Dr Rabey thanked islanders for "bearing with us" during a time where the "pressure has been enormous".

He announced they had doubled theatre capacity in phase four and had "plans to go higher" in the coming weeks.

However, since 1 March 1,400 patients have been added to waiting lists and about 1,000 patients have been seen, Dr Rabey confirmed.

The health service has been focusing on patients with a lower risk of getting critically ill if they caught coronavirus.

Dr Rabey said once the island enters phase five, this approach will change to prioritise the "very high risk patients who have been waiting a long time".

He explained the reason people are being asked to self-isolate for two weeks prior to their surgery is to "protect them", and minimise the chance they are carrying the virus when operated on.

Deputy Heidi Soulsby has said moving to phase five in Guernsey's lockdown exit strategy would be too early at this point.

The president of the Committee for Health and Social Care said complacency was the island's "biggest enemy" and asked islanders to be patient while the Bailiwick moves through the phases.

She said Guernsey had transitioned through its exit framework "faster than we could possibly have imagined a couple of months ago".

"We can't bring everything back at once. To do so would compromise the safety of service users and staff," Mrs Soulsby said.

Deputy Gavin St Pier is urging islanders to remind themselves of self-isolation rules for those entering or returning to the Bailiwick.

Everyone who enters the islands via boat or plane must self-isolate for 14 days, except for some essential workers set out in the exit framework.

Deputy St Pier said self-isolation was "not a soft option" and the measure acted as the Bailiwick's "main defence" against the virus for reentering the community.

He said those who breaches the rules risked facing a "heavy fine".

While residents are allowed to travel for non-essential reasons, Deputy St Pier said he "won't be bothering to do so" because "the burden of self-isolation on return is just too high a price to pay for a journey which is, by definition, not essential".

Deputy Gavin St Pier paid tribute to everyone who has worked on "keeping education going" since schools closed in March.

All Guernsey's schools are to reopen from 8 June and the chairman of the Civil Contingencies authority wished everyone returning luck.

Mr St Pier said: "Mainly I want to say thank you to so, so many people who helped keep education going since mid-March."

He expressed his gratitude to teachers, other school staff, parents, carers and children.

"I know many of us have a far greater appreciation that teaching really is not an easy profession by any means.

"We'll be very happy to hand back control to the experts," Mr St Pier said.

The quay and Church Square in St Peter Port will again be closed to traffic during certain times this weekend, the States has announced.

The "successful" pilot of a pedestrian-focused scheme was aimed at "capturing some of the benefits that many have enjoyed during lockdown", a statement said.

This included an "increased sense of tranquility on roads", as well as helping islanders maintain social distancing during shopping and received a "very positive" community response.

However, there will be some changes, the States confirmed.

From 10:00 BST Saturday until 07:00 BST Monday, Church Square will once again close to traffic.

The Blue Badge accessible bays and the taxi rank will be temporarily relocated to The Albany (South Esplanade) and additional accessible parking will also be provided along the Quay on Saturday.

The area between Quay Street to the Crown Pier will be closed from 10:00 until 19:30 BST on Sunday, but will remain open on Saturday.

Lower Pollet will not close this weekend as it is considered that adequate social distancing can be maintained in the area, the States confirmed.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Local league cricket in Guernsey is due to restart on 29 June, the board has announced.

On Saturday, Guernsey became the first place in the British Isles to play cricket since lockdown began.

There are plans for two more T20 games to go ahead on 13 June.

Chief executive Mark Latter says he plans to stream the T20 games online.

Rebecca Thorn
BBC News Online

Restaurants and pubs in Guernsey will be allowed to stay open until 23:30 BST, the States has announced.

Places serving food or alcohol had initially been given a curfew of 22:30 under phase four of the island's lockdown exit strategy., external

Deputy Heidi Soulsby, President of the Committee for Health and Social Care said a "fantastic" response from the public to the reopening of pubs and restaurants had prompted the extension of hours.

"Not only does this move us, as a community, ever closer back to 'normal', it will also assist hospitality at this difficult time," she said.

The States of Guernsey has approved a scheme that will offer compensation to patients diagnosed with a rare lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

People who have contracted mesothelioma from their employment or general environment will be eligible for the scheme, external from 1 January 2021.

The States are expected to pay up to £100,000 a year in compensation, based on an estimate of two people making a claim each year.

The amount of money awarded to a person will be based on the age at which they are diagnosed with the condition, in line with a similar scheme ran in Jersey., external

Applications for compensation will be required within 12 months of this diagnosis, supported by records showing whether someone is likely to have been exposed to asbestos in Guernsey or Alderney.

In the event of a sufferer’s death, their dependent relative would be entitled to a payment.

A request to delay the debate, by Deputy Gavin St Pier and Deputy Jane Stephens on behalf of the Policy and Resources Committee, until the financial impact of Covid-19 on States' funds could be determined was rejected.