17 April 2020
A charter flight from the UK is scheduled to arrive at St Helena Airport on Monday, 20 April 2020. It will bring important medical supplies including an air freight consignment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), 960 COVID-19 test kits, laboratory analysis equipment and medical personnel. Some St Helena residents who have been stranded in the UK with no alternative way of getting back to the Island are also returning on the flight.
St Helena Government understands the arrival of this flight may be of particular interest for some people. We would therefore like to explain to you the processes and procedures that will be in place for the arrival of this flight and any future flight under COVID-19 restrictions, including getting the passengers to the quarantine site at Bradley’s and the benefits of having these passengers in quarantine after their arrival to the Island.
At St Helena Airport
- As announced by St Helena Airport earlier this week, the Airport is closed to all visitors on Flight Days therefore there will be no opportunity for arriving passengers to meet or greet family and friends
- Passengers arriving on any flight will be required to wear a mask and gloves, they will be disembarked in small groups (c. 5), temperature screened at the arrivals gate then processed through Immigration and Customs
- Following clearance through Immigration and Customs, passengers will be brought into the Arrivals Hall by a Health Care Worker and the medical ‘Proper Officer’ where they will be informed of the quarantine process
- Passengers will then be transported via mini-bus to Bradley’s Camp where they will commence 14 days of compulsory quarantine. Passengers will still be wearing masks and gloves. The driver will wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and will maintain Social Distancing from the passengers when embarking and disembarking the bus. When all passengers have disembarked, the bus will be thoroughly cleaned as advised by Health Professionals
- Flight crew will also be in quarantine at Bradley’s Camp until their outbound departure from the Island.
All staff working at St Helena Airport, including those working around the aircraft and handling baggage, will wear the appropriate PPE. Interaction with flight crew on the plane will be via a head set plugged into the aircraft on the Control Tower frequency or via phone.
Crew will be required to clean the aircraft. There will be no cleaning services provided by airport personnel.
At Bradley’s Camp
- On arrival at Bradley’s Camp, all individuals will be shown to their rooms where they will spend the next 14 days in self-isolation. Individuals can leave their rooms for walks, keeping five metres away from each other. Individuals will be required to stay in their rooms at certain times for safety reasons and to allow staff to operate safely
- An Operations Manager and Assistant Manager are appointed to ensure the individuals are looked after
- All meals will be delivered outside of individuals’ rooms and a daily check on the health of each person will be made outside of their rooms while maintaining Social Distancing.
It is a criminal offence to breach or attempt to breach isolation contrary to Regulation 8 of the Public Health (Prevention of Formidable Diseases) (Coronavirus) Regulations, 2020.
Quarantining all arriving passengers at Bradley’s Camp ensures that anyone who presents with COVID-19 symptoms are identified quickly and can be contained. This means they can be treated early in isolation without risking spread to other members of the community. By keeping the potential infection in one place, we greatly increase our chances of avoiding any spread of the virus beyond the Camp.
We are still in the Prevent Stage and will continue to do all we can to prevent Coronavirus from coming to St Helena and affecting our community.
SHG
17 April 2020