Guernsey Reopening after More Than 2 Months in COVID-19 Lockdown

Guernsey's financial services sector is emerging from its COVID-19 lockdown. The island, a leading domicile for captive insurance, alternative investment funds, and private wealth, went into lockdown on March 24 to help control the spread of the disease.

Guernsey has had no new COVID-19 cases for 4 weeks, and there are currently no known active cases on the island.

The move to phase four of the island's strategy to emerge from lockdown occurred over the weekend. With the move to the next phase, financial services firms may return to their offices after more than 2 months of working remotely. In the process, the island became the first place in the British Isles to release from lockdown, having pursued a strategy of "test, trace, and quarantine," according to a statement from Guernsey Finance.

During the lockdown, the island's financial services industry called on business continuity plans to continue operating in an almost seamless fashion, Guernsey Finance said.

"The financial services industry is well-prepared for incidents of disruption, with business continuity being a regulatory requirement, and through the benefit of experience around the world for the many global firms which also operate in Guernsey," Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley said in the statement.

Though Guernsey's offices are reopening, the island's borders remain effectively closed at this stage of its COVID-19 recovery, with any travel into the island requiring a strict 14-day quarantine period.

"Our firms will be looking forward to the resumption of travel in due course but, in the meantime, have enthusiastically embraced technology solutions to ensure high levels of contact with clients, advisers, and intermediaries," Mr. Wheatley said.