English football will be suspended until at least 30 April because of the continuing coronavirus outbreak.

Once testing is set up in Guernsey results could be delivered on the same day, Public Health has said.

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola brink said they were looking at two testing strategies:

• A 24-hour policy for hospital in-patients, with the aim of getting results within the hour
• General community testing with same or next-day results

The combination of these strategies could allow "really rapid detection" and "good contact tracing", Dr Brink said

She emphasised that if testing can be put at the "centre" of controlling the spread of the virus, it would put Guernsey "in a completely different ballgame".

"It's the unknown that we're face with today, that is causing us concern."

Guernsey's head of law enforcement said he believes the "vast majority" of people will comply with self-isolation rules and the response to those who do not would be "proportionate".

Ruari Hardy confirmed if they learned of people not complying, the initial approach would be made by Public Health.

However, Mr Hardy said if initial efforts failed law enforcement may have to "become involved", but they hoped this would not be necessary

"Our strategy at the moment is to make sure everyone has the right information.

"But if [enforcement] has to be used, it is there and we suspect most people in our community get that this is about keeping their loved ones, their friends and family safe," he added.

Outstanding test results from the UK will be processed, despite "frustrating" delays, the States has confirmed.

President of the Committee for Health and Social Care Heidi Soulsby said they were "looking for alternative" facilities in the UK "as we speak".

"It's not as if we're just hanging around and waiting for those results, there's a lot of work going on in the background," she added.

Border agency staff are ensuring information about self-isolation is given to anyone arriving in the Bailiwick, Guernsey's head of law enforcement says.

Ruari Hardy said new arrivals are being met by officers from the border agency and being given "clear information" about the mandatory 14 day self-isolation period.

"Staff at the borders are also confirming the identity of everybody coming in and ensure that we have contact details in case further medical advice or information needs to be passed to them," he added.

An "immediate pause" of education was necessary until an "adequate level" of testing in Guernsey can be established, President of the Policy and Resources Committee Gavin St Pier said.

Deputy St Pier said once island testing to establish there is no "community spread" has been set up, it would be "appropriate" to reopen schools.

"If there is community spread, the decision can then be made to extend the closure of schools," he added.

The States is "hoping" coronavirus testing facilities could be set up on island within "two to three weeks", but it could possibly take longer.

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said they were expecting the delivery of a "key piece of kit" in the "next few days", but there are "some unknowns" in the process.

Dr Brink said a process of setting up this kind of facility would normally take "a few months".

"It's been pushed down to a very tight timeframe.

"The importance of testing is that we essentially can control our own testing programme, so we can also ramp up and do a lot more testing."

The decision to temporarily close all schools from Monday was made following the UK declaring it could no longer guarantee the time taken to test Guernsey samples for coronavirus.

Director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink, who made the decision to close schools, said it was a "period of pause for education" while "necessary measures" were put in place.

Dr Brink said the change in the UK’s circumstances "could lead to a level of uncertainty" over the speed of obtaining results.

"Fortunately we believe the ability to test locally is nearly here.

"This will not only mean we can continue assessing the rate of spread of coronavirus in our community, it will give us the ability to carry out more tests, more quickly, improving the data we use to make decisions," she added.

Childcare provisions will be made for the children of key workers and SEN children during temporary school closures, the States said.

The details of these arrangements are due to be announced on Friday.

All schools will close temporarily from Monday for an "extended Easter break", the States has announced.

The musical A La Perchoine involving more than 600 children and 100 adults has been delayed until May 2021.

It was intended to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Occupation during World War Two and 30 years since the musical was first performed.

In a statement organisers said: "We have been keeping a close eye on the situation and listening to the latest States of Guernsey advice on what to do.

"It was a tough decision, but as a committee we feel that in light of everything happening at the moment, the health and safety of our island community is paramount.

"Thank you to everyone who has been so committed already to this show and we look forward to putting on an amazing performance next year with our incredible cast for the island community."

BBC Radio Guernsey will be hosting a "wireless congregation" for church-goers affected by the coronavirus.

Churches across the island have been closed to indoor public gatherings, but some churches and religious centres remain open for private, individual prayer.

The "wireless" session will be aired every Sunday between 08:00 and 08:30 across all BBC Local Radio, with a leader from a different denomination hosting each week.

The first session this Sunday will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Catholic masses in Guernsey have been suspended.

The cancellations include all "public services and gatherings", which have been called off for the "immediate future".

The parish said churches would remain open for private prayer and further updates would be posted on its website, external.

The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture (ESC) has assured islanders it will "provide clarity" on the status of exams when "further information" is available.

The UK government announced on Wednesday it would not hold exams in the summer, after it took the decision to indefinitely close schools to everyone but the children of "key workers".

The UK have promised to provide more information over the policy, after criticism was levelled at the UK for a lack of clarity.

President of ESC Matt Fallaize said the committee accepts disruption was "inevitable" to summer exams in Guernsey.

"While this clarity is sought, our focus locally must remain on adhering to the advice from Public Health Services and managing the current situation in relation to coronavirus," Deputy Fallaize added.

All Church of England services in Guernsey have been cancelled until further notice.

The Dean of Guernsey, the Very Reverend Tim Barker, said the decision was made with a "heavy heart", but the church's priority is to protect the whole community.

Many church buildings will remain open as places of prayer and parishioners are encouraged to speak to the clergy over the phone.

However, Mr Barker said churches intend to offer alternative forms of worship for parishioners.

"The worshiping life of the church goes on, it's just that we are not gathering congregations around us," he added.

Some of the alternatives to be offered by individual churches include:

• A live streamed podcast service from the Town Church
• A Youtube channel from St Saviour or Torteval Parish Church to watch videos of sermons

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Citizens Advice Guernsey has taken the decision to operate a phone only service because of the volume of calls related to the impact of coronavirus it has received.

The charity's CEO Kerry Ciotti, reassured islanders they were "there to listen" and to "try the best we can to help".

"Employees are worried about their jobs, but so are the employers.

"All we can do is try and help to support people and come up with some ideas of how to navigate through these difficult times," Ms Ciotti added.

The government has issued advice to people who wish to travel for compassionate or medical grounds.

In its recommendations, the States outlined several examples of "essential" travel and asked islanders to "consider carefully whether such travel is time critical".

"Individuals do not need to get specific approval to travel, but are advised against undertaking non-essential travel."

People who undertake essential travel will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days on returning to the Bailiwick.

The examples of compassionate and medical travel outline are:

• Supporting dependent relatives in "poor or critical health"
• Travelling to receive "time sensitive" medical care that cannot be provided on island, or care which a doctor says "cannot be deferred" without harming a person's health
• Individuals "ordinarily resident" in the Bailiwick returning home, including students and people already travelling outside of Guernsey

The States also advised that anyone undertaking essential travel should "restrict their movements as far as possible".

The recommendations to those who are undertaking essential travel include:

• Avoiding visiting known or presumptive cases of Covid-19
• Minimising close contact with people where possible
• Avoiding using public transport, including taxis, and hire a car if possible
• Practicing good hand hygiene
• Avoiding public places, including restaurants.

Sark's government has closed its meetings to the public due to the coronavirus-related advice around public gatherings.

An EGM of Chief Pleas is scheduled to start at 19:00, external.