16 July 2020
St Helena Government (SHG) has agreed and published a Quarantine Facility Charging Policy which sets out the charges for the use of quarantine facilities on St Helena during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Policy is now available on the SHG website at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/public-information/.
SHG will charge for the quarantine facilities at Bradley’s Camp or a satellite site to ensure that at least some contribution can be made by travellers to recover costs and to mitigate the impact on the public finances of St Helena.
Bradley’s Camp was established as a Government run quarantine facility as part of St Helena’s response to COVID-19. The Camp at Bottom Woods which was redeveloped from the ex-Basil Read accommodation used during the Airport construction has had significant investment in order to bring it up to an acceptable standard that would provide for safe, secure and comfortable living arrangements for those having to quarantine by law.
The following fees shall be charged under this policy for quarantine:
- Persons aged 17 or older will be charged £30.00 per day (or in the case of persons under the age of 17, £15.00 per day) for every day they are required to quarantine, providing:
- They have St Helenian status and are ordinarily resident on the Island
- They have St Helenian status and can provide proof of contract of employment for at least one year on St Helena or are arriving with a bona fide intention to live on St Helena for at least one year from the date of arrival providing evidence of this intention
- Arrives on St Helena to fulfil a contract of employment of at least one year and can provide proof of contract of employment
- They have St Helenian status and are ordinarily resident on Ascension Island or the Falkland Islands and are coming to take leave on St Helena.
- All other persons who do not meet the above criteria will be charged at £60.00 per day
- Persons in this category who are returning to the Island on compassionate grounds where they are returning to visit a terminally ill relative or following the death of a relative may apply for a 50% reduction in the fee providing they can provide evidence to support their request.
A person requiring medical treatment while in quarantine will be charged as per the normal Health Fees & Charges.
Exemptions
The following persons are exempted from paying fees for quarantine:
- A patient returning from overseas medical treatment arranged by the St Helena Health Directorate
- A person returning with a patient from medical treatment who was approved by the Health Directorate to be the official carer of the person referred for overseas medical treatment
- A dependent who for family reasons was required to accompany a carer of a patient returning from medical treatment. A dependent person in this case refers to a child under the age of 17 years.
All fees will be charged at the end of a person’s period of quarantine and will be paid to SHG. These fees do not represent full cost recovery but is a contribution to the overall cost of providing quarantine facilities.
Notes to Editors
Bradley’s Camp provides 24-hour care for those required to quarantine and this includes the provision and delivery of three main meals, cleaning, laundry services and 24-hour concierge. In order to effectively operate the quarantine facility other indirect costs and services are also required and these include 24-hour security for the site or sites where applicable, facility management and management and administration.
Hospital and medical facilities are also available at the Camp should medical treatment be required. In order to provide a reasonable service the operations of the quarantine facility therefore comes at significant cost to public funds which are currently not recovered in any way. Concerns have been raised about the longer term affordability of this going forward and the financial risk that this poses to the public funds.
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SHG
16 July 2020