The most rapidly growing category of identified coronavirus cases in Guernsey are coming from contact tracing efforts, director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink said.

She said this was "really good news" as it helped efforts to control the spread of the virus.

Anyone found to have been in contact with a coronavirus case is being put in quarantine and tested if they become "even slightly symptomatic".

Dr Brink also announced that the number of cases from travellers was falling, and community seeding cases were "flattening off", after an initial rise.

Covid-19 cases caught within the community amounts to 12% of the overall total, Dr Brink said.

She clarified that Guernsey's testing rate is currently 26 per 1,000 person, more than five times that of France and nearly 10 times that of the UK.

All the data Public Health has announced, including graphs and diagrams, has been published on the States website, external.

Guernsey has 228 people who have tested positive for coronavirus, 69 of whom have recovered, director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink has announced.

There have been eight deaths on the island.

Dr Brink said the response had so far been "highly effective".

"We're really starting to see a flattening of the curve," she added.

Giving an update on the demographics of Covid-19 cases in Guernsey, Dr Brink said the age range of cases went from under one to 99, but just 4% of them were under 18-years-old.

Dr Brink also said 62% of cases were women, but this was likely related to the clusters of cases among residents and staff of care homes.

The extension of Guernsey's co-payroll scheme to all businesses and self-employed people has been announced by the States.

Chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority Gavin St Pier said they had reviewed the support available and decided extension of the scheme was the easiest means of getting "rapid" help to islanders.

He said a huge number of people have come forward in the last 48 hours looking for help from the States.

Deputy St Pier said: "I don't think we have made any mistakes, things have just moved on.

"The support is working for some, but not for others."

He added the constantly shifting nature of the crisis' impact on the economy was the reason for the decision to expand the scheme.

The full detail of available support for businesses and individuals is available on the States website, external.

Two changes from the Committee for Health and Social Care (HSC) have been suggested to proposals for a delay to Guernsey's general election.

The first amendment proposes to allocate up to £20m from the capital reserve to pay for proposed changes to the island's electronic patient records system, as well as delay debate on the reform to 20 May.

President of HSC Heidi Soulsby said the delay was needed to give the committee more time to provide the States with the necessary information.

The second proposal would postpone the debate of reforms to Guernsey's abortion law until 17 June.

Deputy Soulsby added while both changes were necessary, the committee need to prioritise its resources during the current crisis.

The States of Guernsey has launched a centralised appeal for islanders to make donations to support the island's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Money given to the Covid-19 Response Appeal will be used to help healthcare workers, obtain protective equipment and support islanders suffering from financial hardship, the States said.

Donations can be made by bank transfer, cheque or by phone and full details of how to send money is available on the States website, external.

The government said it had launched the appeal in response to significant demand from islanders wanting to donate to help.

The appeal's funds will be directed to the area of the public sector’s coronavirus response "where there is the greatest need at any point in time", it added.

President of Policy and Resources Gavin St Pier said they had been "touched" by approaches from islanders seeking to assist the States response.

Deputy St Pier said: "The States cannot be reliant on such donations for the funding of key public services even in this extraordinary time and for this extraordinary reason, but they certainly are very welcome."

An amendment to a proposal to delay Guernsey's general election has clarified new dates for States meetings in spring and summer of this year.

The new proposals would cancel the meeting due to take place on 21 April, as well all those scheduled for between 1 May and 31 July.

They will be replaced by meetings on 20 May, 17 June and 15 July, the last of which will be used to deal with accounts and other business.

An amendment delaying Guernsey's general election by a year, rather than four months, in light of the coronavirus has passed in the States.

Should the postponement motion pass the election will take place on 16 June 2021, rather than October as originally proposed by the States Assembly and Constitution Committee.

The amendment passed by 22 votes to 15, with two abstentions.

The amendment was submitted by Policy and Resources Committee member Jonathan Le Tocq, who argued the logistics of holding an October election were impractical in light of the current crisis.

Rebecca Thorn
BBC News Online

A funding body set up by the States of Guernsey is appealing for donations to help charities responding to the issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Social Investment Fund (SIF) acts as a States partner and draws funds from both public and private sources.

It said charities that provide "vital services" to the island were "themselves facing financial difficulty".

Those overseeing the fund said it was working with the Association of Guernsey Charities, grant givers and the States to ensure the money made its way to charities.

Chair of the Social Investment Fund, Jurat Stephen Jones OBE, said: "The SIF has agreed that we will join with those who can support this appeal by investing in the short-term pressing needs of our local charities, while remaining conscious of our role in the long term support and development of the charitable sector in the Bailiwick of Guernsey."

More information on the appeal can be found here. , external

BBC Radio Guernsey

Image source, St John Ambulance Guernsey

St John Ambulance Guernsey has recorded an almost 30% increase in emergency call outs during the coronavirus pandemic, the service said.

Some of the reports are for patients suffering from acute respiratory symptoms, while others are not related to the crisis.

Chief ambulance officer Mark Mapp confirmed all of the calls have been for genuine emergencies.

Mr Mapp said all ambulance staff are wearing personal protective equipment and practising "physical distancing" to help prevent spreading the virus between teams.

Mr Mapp added: "That increases our resilience in regards to keeping our team numbers up and being able to provide a safe service."

Rebecca Thorn
BBC News Online

The Guernsey States-owned airline Aurigny has announced it will be furloughing 170 members of staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

It said employees that have "no or little work to do at this time" will have their salary cut to 70% of their normal basic pay.

Staff who are still required in flying, airport and "support" roles will be asked to accept 80% of their usual pay.

Aurigny said the measures are expected to save the company £450,000 per month.

Mark Darby, chief executive of Aurigny said: "It is with regret that we are taking this decision as we know some of our staff will suffer hardship as a result.

"However, we have to be accountable to our shareholder and support the States of Guernsey and taxpayers in saving costs at this unprecedented time.

"The reduction in salary is applicable to all staff including myself and the management team. We are all in this together."

The States of Guernsey has resumed debate on postponing June's general election via virtual meeting.

The legislation put forward by the States Assembly and Constitution Committee would delay the election until October this year.

Discussion will resume on an amendment to SACC's proposal, which would push back the election by a year until June 2021.

• Listen live online

Rebecca Thorn
BBC News Online

The States of Guernsey is reviewing its financial support for businesses after it admitted its first set of measures to tackle the effects of coronavirus are "not meeting the legitimate needs" of the self-employed.

Deputy Lyndon Trott, Vice President of the Policy and Resources Committee said it was "clear that a gap in provision exists".

"We knew that we wouldn’t get everything right first off and that adjustments would be needed. Not only are the support initiatives new, they are also unprecedented in both their cost and urgency.

"But we are dealing with public funds and not confetti and we know that people want the support targeted as effectively as we can."

The States said a "virtual call centre" will be running from Friday to deal with the high number of applications for business support.

It said £2.2m had been shared amongst 700 businesses so far.

Paul Whitfield, chief executive of the States of Guernsey, said the centre would also help to clear a backlog of applications.

"By the end of the week the Business Support team will have 20 people working with businesses to get them the support that they need, and if we need to augment that further next week we will do so", he said.

The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Guernsey has risen to seven, with three other deaths presumed to be linked to the virus.

Four more people tested positive for the virus since the Easter weekend, bringing the total number of cases to 223.

A total of 53 people have recovered so far, and there are currently 84 people awaiting test results.

The States of Guernsey's first virtual meeting has closed for the day.

Deputies were debating proposals to delay the general election until October.

They will resume discussion of an amendment to the legislation which would further push back the election until June 2021 in the morning.

Debate will resume at 09:30 BST tomorrow.

An amendment obliging the States of Guernsey to only focus on key coronavirus issues until September has been lodged.

It was attached to a law seeking to delay Guernsey's 2020 election until October by Deputy Peter Roffey.

The proposal lays out that States meetings between April and July should focus on only matters relating to the crisis and other "urgent and pressing" issues.

These exceptions include:

• Other emergency legislation
• Matters to do with government accounts
• Urgent business as defined by the Policy and Resources Committee
• Items deferred from this week's States of Deliberation meeting

The consideration of other legislation would resume from 1 September, should the amendment be approved by deputies.

All emergency legislation put in place for the Bailiwick of Guernsey during the coronavirus crisis has been approved by the States retrospectively.

These measures were put in place by the emergency Civil Contingencies Authority over the last few weeks and will remain in place for 30 days after they came into force.

These include the lockdown regulations like the closure of non-critical businesses and the banning of gatherings of more than two people who do not live together.

Rebecca Thorn
BBC News Online

According to a survey, 51% of 515 Jersey residents think the threat of Covid-19 to their job is high or very high.

Island Global Research found this fell to 48% of 688 respondents in Guernsey.

In the Bailiwick 29% of participants said they had experienced a loss of work or have worked fewer hours in the week commencing 6 April.

This was about the same for Jersey, with 28% of people in agreement.

The group that feels most threatened by the coronavirus are the self-employed, with 66% of these respondents across Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man perceiving the threat to their job as high or very high.

Islanders who would like to complete next week's survey can find it here., external

Adam Durbin
BBC News Online

A proposed delay of Guernsey's general election for a year has been put forward in order to have time to "properly plan", according to the politician who laid it.

Deputy Jonathan le Tocq said any delay to an election was a "very regrettable" step that should not be taken lightly.

Mr Le Tocq said: "But if we're going to delay it at all, delaying it a full 12 months makes it easier and less uncertain in terms of planning."

He argued the current proposal of a delay until October was unrealistic as elements of social distancing might still need to be in place over the summer, which would make it hard to organise an election.

Mr Le Tocq added one of the biggest challenges to organisation an election is training volunteers to help run it, which needs to take place at least two months before.

Adam Durbin
BBC News Online

A proposal to delay Guernsey's general election until at least October will be voted on today by States members.

The election, originally scheduled for 17 June, would be held on 21 October under the proposal by the States Assembly and Constitution Committee (SACC).

The legislation would also extend current deputies political term until 29 October.

However, the States are also set to consider an amendment to SACC's legislation which would push back the election for an entire year.

This amendment, submitted by Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, would mean the election would be held on 17 June 2021 and the political term extended until 30 June 2021.