Latest Posts

The Health Services Directorate administered 3,322 COVID-19 vaccine doses between December 2021 and February 2022.

The 3,322 vaccines have been administered as follows:

3,627 adults (around 97% of adults) received two doses of Astra Zeneca in the first phase of vaccinations.

During the month of March the Health Services Directorate continued COVID-19 vaccinations, focusing on children and young persons.  Groups of 12 to 17 year olds received their second dose and groups of 5 -11 year olds were offered and received their first dose of the Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine.  

Clinics continued last week to allow vaccines to be administered to children and young persons who had missed their initial appointments.    

Note to Editors: The data in this update are provisional.

SHG

5 April 2022

Five new heritage streetlights (see photos attached) have recently been installed at the Seafront, Jamestown, as part of the Jamestown Streetlight Project (Phase 3).

The streetlights were installed by Adam Grocock of Grocock’s Contractors and can be seen between Donny’s Bar and the HM Customs building.

The new streetlights will replace the existing high energy consumption streetlights and provide increased lighting in this area. The lights are dark skies compliant and the bulbs are lower-energy LEDs, installed on heritage-style poles.

In addition to the heritage lights and as part of the contract, Grocock’s Contractors also installed additional full solar lights in areas previously identified as in need of lighting. This includes two new lights and poles in Market Street, additional lights inside Barracks Square, a new light and pole at Deadwood bus shelter, a new light in Alarm Forest as well as the replacement of lights in Rupert’s Valley and the replacement of lights at the Briars.

Notes to Editor:

The Jamestown Streetlight Project is a multi-phase Project to replace all existing high energy consumption streetlights in Jamestown with more dark skies compliant, energy efficient (solar and LED) type streetlights.

#StHelena #EDIP #HeritageStreetlights

SHG

5 April 2022

The public is advised that Pilling Primary School and Harford Primary School will be closed from 12 noon tomorrow, Wednesday 6April 2022.  This closure is to enable all staff to attend the funeral of the late Arthur Leo. Arthur was a member of the school team as a Groundsman for a number of years and we are all saddened by his passing.

All parents and guardians are reminded that children will be transported from their respective school at 12 noon as per the usual schedule to their normal drop off points unless other arrangements have been made with the relevant school.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and seek your support during this sad time.

SHG
5 April 2022

In January the St Helena Research Institute (SHRI) launched a competition to attract research proposals from international researchers that will help meet the conservation of biodiversity objectives in The Peaks National Park Management Plan, 2019-2024 and its corresponding implementation plan Restoring St Helena’s Internationally Important Cloud Forest for Water Security & Wildlife (2021-2026). Specifically, objective 3a3, research, data gathering and training is carried out to inform and maximise the effectiveness of restoration and management techniques and with a specific focus on filling knowledge gaps.

We are delighted to announce that Amy Webster, doctoral student with the University of Birmingham and based at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), has been awarded a £2,500 research bursary to contribute to the costs of conducting her study of tree disease on St Helena. 

It is becoming increasingly evident that tree disease presents a significant and growing threat to the cabbage trees on the peaks, in addition to the existing threats due to rarity, habitat loss and climate change. Amy’s doctoral study aims to identify the pathogens causing disease across black cabbage, dogwood, whitewood, he cabbage and she cabbage trees; the biological and non-biological factors that may be contributing to disease spread, and the implications for conservation management. Her study seeks to support management planning to control the spread of pests and diseases and raise awareness about them. Amy will be using DNA techniques to identify diseases and other organisms isolated from diseased trees and the soil around them. This bursary is awarded to help towards the costs of generating sequence data of the cloud forest soil microbiome. Purchasing equipment and materials to sequence DNA. Additionally, this will support the adoption of a portable device called a MinION as a regular tool on the Island for DNA sequence work to support continual monitoring. Money from the bursary will also help boost media and communications activities.

Thanks are extended to RSPB CFP Manager, Kirsten Pritchard, Ben Sansom, Arctium and SHG’s Chief Environmental Officer, Isabel Peters, for judging the competition. We look forward to working with Amy in the coming months and years to support her doctoral study. 

The Research Bursary has been awarded under the UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) funded Cloud Forest Project  ‘Restoring St Helena’s Internationally Important Cloud Forest for Wildlife, Water Security and People’. Thanks are extended to the FCDO for supporting this project and all the project partners who have made this possible.

Rebecca Cairns-Wicks, Coordinator, SHRI (St Helena Research Institute)

5 April 2022

SHRI is a collaborative organisation founded on St Helena creating and promoting opportunities for research, innovation and the advancement of learning, ensuring that research and new knowledge is accessible and used for the benefit of St Helena.

Contact: Rebecca Cairns-Wicks rebecca.cairns-wicks@sainthelena.gov.sh

Birmingham University Institute of Forest Science (BIFoR)

The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research aims to provide fundamental science, social science and cultural research of direct relevance to forested landscapes anywhere in the world. We make the evidence-based case for forests as part of one-planet living.

Contact: Professor Robert Jackson R.W.Jackson@bham.ac.uk

Cloud Forest Project

The St Helena Cloud Forest Project is a highly collaborative multi-year project funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), to up-scale cloud forest restoration activities for biodiversity, water security and socio-economic benefits on the Island.

Contact: Kirsten Pritchard Kirsten.Pritchard@rspb.org.uk

Prince Andrew School would like to inform the parents of all awardees who are going to be collecting a certificate on Thursday, 7 April 2022, that should they wish to bring both parents to the ceremony, they can do so.  Please ensure that any change to the reply slip already sent in to the School is telephoned or emailed through to School Support Assistant, Caitlyn Buckley, on tel: 24290 or via email: caitlyn.buckley@princeandrew.edu.sh.

It is important this information is received by the School for seating purposes.

SHG
5 April 2022

Mr Nigel Phillips CBE has been appointed Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha in succession to Dr Philip Rushbrook. Mr Phillips will take up his appointment during August 2022.

CURRICULUM VITAE       

Full name:                             Nigel Phillips

Married to:                             Emma Phillips

Children:                               One daughter

2017 – present                     Governor of the Falkland Islands and Her Majesty’s Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

2016 – 2017                          Ministry of Defence (MOD), UK Permanent Representation to the European Union, Brussels, Deputy Military Representative

2014 – 2016                          MOD, Head, Russian Strategic Studies/Wider Europe Policy

2013 – 2014                          Member of Royal College of Defence Studies

2012 – 2013                          Language training (Russian), Defence Academy

2010 – 2012                          Warsaw, Defence Attaché 

2007 – 2009                          Defence College of Communications and Information Systems, Deputy Commandant and Garrison Commander

2003 – 2007                          Stockholm, Defence Attaché

2001 – 2003                          Defence Communications Services Agency, Senior Staff Officer Communication Operations Planning

2000 – 2001                          Defence Academy, Advanced Command and Staff Course, Student

1984 – 2017                          Royal Air Force, Commissioned Officer, various appointments

As we all know, Maundy Thursday is just around the corner, and it is traditional for residents to spend this time fishing at various locations around the Island. The Sea Rescue Service would like the community to stay safe during this period. If you are planning a fishing trip please inform family members of your intended location and time of return and ensure the weather conditions are favourable for your trip. It is also advisable to consider the following items to be taken with you:

Please do not fish alone

The Sea Rescue team will be patrolling the various fishing areas around the Island throughout Maundy Thursday night. If any assistance is required, you can call for help on VHF Channel 16 which will be monitored at all times by the Emergency Services Call Centre (call sign – St Helena Radio), also by calling 999.  

For information, the tides for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are as follows:

(Maundy Thursday) – High tide: 1.16am – 0.82m above chart datum

                                    Low tide: 7.23am – 0.12m above chart datum

                                    High tide: 1.39pm – 0.91m above chart datum

                                    Low tide: 7.50pm – 0.12m above chart datum

       (Good Friday) – High tide: 1.52am – 0.88m above chart datum 

                                  Low tide: 7.59am – 0.06m above chart datum

                                  High tide: 2.14pm – 0.97m above chart datum

                                  Low tide: 8.25pm – 0.07m above chart datum

The Sea Rescue Service would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter.

#StHelena #MaundyThursday #GoodFriday #Easter #Fishing #AltogetherSafer

SHG

4 April 2022

Amanda Milling, Minister of State, Op Ed

St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, along with the sister Overseas Territories and the United Kingdom, is part of a unique family that spans the globe, covering nine time zones. Whilst each member of the family is distinct, we are bound together by our shared values.

Politics can often be bruising, and it is easy to take for granted the free and open societies we have established.  However, events in Eastern Europe give us good reason not to be complacent, but also for us all to take a stand against Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.  

Millions of Ukrainians have now fled their country, and many more have been displaced in their own land. It is obscene that in this day and age, Russia, a large heavily armed country, should attack a smaller neighbour; bombing hospitals, killing children and splitting up families. I know this is something the people of the Falkland Islands can relate to, as the 40th anniversary of the Argentine invasion approaches.

There is no justification for the scenes of school children huddled seeking shelter in basements from missile attacks, nor of elderly Ukrainians forced to leave behind their family homes in the freezing winter. The Ukrainian people will have been heartened to see their flag flying proudly across the Overseas Territories. The United Kingdom was one of the first countries to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, something President Zelensky has recognised.

The Overseas Territories are approximately 270,000 people, control enormous swathes of ocean across the world, and have a pivotal role to play in global shipping and finance.  Recently I held a call with the leaders of the Overseas Territories to listen to their views, thank them for the principled stand they had already taken and their immediate work to ensure that sanctions against President Putin and his associates are implemented in full. This united front shown by the Overseas Territories and the United Kingdom is an excellent example of how together we are a force for good on the world stage. 

To some this may feel like just another distant war, but this war of choice started by President Putin will have a profound impact on global supply chains when the cost of living has already risen sharply. Crucially, all our values are at risk if we don’t take action.  When this conflict is over, it will be clear who was on the right side of history. I believe the Overseas Territories should be proud of the role they have to play and principled stand they have taken.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

31 March 2022

The Health Services Directorate would like to inform the public that, due to staff illness, the Pharmacy in Jamestown is short staffed today, Monday 4 April 2022.  It is therefore not possible to operate the Dispensary bus at the Half Tree Hollow (HTH) Clinic today for the normal dispensing service.  

Persons with appointments at the HTH Clinic today – who may receive a prescription, or those who need to collect repeat prescriptions – are asked, to please make your way to the Jamestown Pharmacy to collect your medication. 

Persons who are unable to collect their medication at the Pharmacy in Jamestown today are advised to inform the nurse at the HTH Clinic giving your name, date of birth and the prescription needed.  The Pharmacy will process the prescriptions during the course of the day and these will be transported to the HTH Clinic for collection at 3pm this afternoon.   

The public is thanked for your understanding and cooperation at this time.

SHG

4 April 2022

St Helena Government (SHG) is inviting interested bidders to purchase by leasehold a number of state-owned properties:

Further details of these properties are included in the Strategic Asset List which is available on the Invest in St Helena page of the SHG website via: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/invest-in-st-helena/. Direct link: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/documents/Stategic-Assets-March-22-1.

The deadline for offers during this round is Friday, 29 April 2022. 

For more information on any of these properties, please contact Investment Co-Ordinator, Melissa Fowler, via email: Melissa.Fowler@sainthelena.gov.sh or on tel: (+290) 22470 Ext 209.

The Investor Prospectus, Strategy and Policy can be viewed on the SHG Website via the Invest in St Helena page.

SHG
1 April 2022