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The Incident Executive Group (IEG) agreed changes to Home Quarantine Arrangements on 2 June 2021. One of these changes is to allow ‘Bubble’ arrangements for Home Quarantine.
‘Bubble’ arrangements allow arriving passengers to enter mandatory home quarantine with each other or with persons on-Island. Bubble arrangements have been approved and used successfully previously. There are a number of advantages to such arrangements, for example, having support during the quarantine period or groups travelling to St Helena for specific projects can spend the quarantine period working remotely.
Each passenger travelling to St Helena is required to complete a pre-arrival questionnaire. This questionnaire will be used to notify the Proper Officers in the Health Service Directorate of the passenger’s intention to enter mandatory quarantine with another person or persons, whether persons arriving on the same flight or persons already on-island.
Quarantine bubbles will only be permitted in accordance with the measures set out below:
- Quarantine can only take place at properties approved by the Proper Officers in line with the Home Quarantine Policy
- Arriving passengers must adhere to the rules for travel to St Helena at the time of the flight. This includes:
- Providing a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test result;
- Abiding with social distancing and hygiene requirements on-board the flight
- Undertaking a COVID-19 test on arrival to St Helena.
- (If a person arrives to the Island and tests positive for COVID-19, the quarantine bubble arrangement will no longer be permitted for health reasons. An alternative quarantine property will be sought, for example, Bradleys)
- Persons on-Island must enter the quarantine bubble voluntarily and at their own risk
- Persons on-Island must make the necessary work/leave arrangements for the quarantine period. This is an entirely voluntary arrangement and no financial or absence claims can be reclaimed from their employer
- All persons in quarantine, including persons on-Island who enter into home quarantine with arriving passengers, must fully comply with all quarantine rules. Once in home quarantine, all persons are legally required to remain in the approved property and to meet all conditions set by the Proper Officers. The quarantine period is only deemed to have been completed if they test negative for COVID-19 on the final day of quarantine
If you have any further queries, please email: communitycovid19@sainthelena.gov.sh
SHG
5 July 2021
Executive Council will meet on Tuesday, 6 July 2021, at 9.30am, in the Council Chamber, to discuss the following items on the Open Agenda:
- National Honours and Awards Bill, 2021
- Appropriation Bill, 2021
These papers (ExCo Memos) are available online at the following link: http://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/councils/executive-council/.
Members of the public who would like to view hard copies of ExCo Memos should contact Clerk of Councils, Connie Johnson, at the Castle on tel: 22470 or via email: connie.johnson@sainthelena.gov.sh.
Elected Members serving on Executive Council are Councillors Anthony Green, Lawson Henry, Clint Beard, Derek Thomas and Cruyff Buckley. Non-voting members of ExCo are Chief Secretary, Susan O’Bey, Financial Secretary, Dax Richards, and Acting Attorney General, Aine Hurley.
#StHelena #ExCoMeeting
SHG
2 July 2021
Waste Management Services have for sale locally produced compost – produced by blending fish waste, piggery effluent and chipped forestry waste.
The compost is sold at £5.00 per 80 litre bag (restricted to four bags per customer in order to maximise its availability).
Customers interested in purchasing compost should first reserve their compost with the Landfill Manager, Patrick Crowie, on tel: 23655 or via email: landfill.manager@helanta.co.sh. Subject to compost availability, customers should then make payment at the Post & Customer Services Centre, Jamestown, and produce their receipt to the Landfill Manager at Horse Point Landfill Site in order to collect their compost.
The compost is pre-bagged. Returning customers are requested to recycle their bags and bring them back for refilling when more compost is required.
Waste Management Services – ‘Working in partnership with customers for a cleaner and greener St Helena’.
SHG
2 July 2021
St Helena Police are appealing to the public for information relating to a vehicle hit and run involving a Silver Toyota Hilux that occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, 27 June 2021. The Hilux was parked near the entrance of Farm Lodge and sustained damage to the rear passenger side.
The public is reminded that it is an offence to leave the scene of an accident without reporting it to the Police.
Police are keen to speak to anyone with information, regardless of how minor they may consider it to be.
Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or have any information that may aid the Police investigation, then please contact the Police on tel: 22626 to speak with a Police Officer of your choice or
email: emergencycontrol@helanta.co.sh quoting reference: HEHN8452.
All calls will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
SHG
1 July 2021
St Helena Government (SHG) has confirmed charter flights with Titan Airways up until March 2022. The Civil Aviation team are now amending the passenger booking process for these flights to a ‘first come, first served’ basis. This will allow passenger bookings to be confirmed much earlier than the current process to enable people to plan and make their travel arrangements to St Helena accordingly.
The current COVID-19 requirements for passengers and safety procedures will continue to be implemented during all scheduled flights. This is in addition to the Standard Operating Procedures followed by Titan Airways crew and all staff involved in passenger handling on St Helena.
Passenger Booking Process
August 2021 – The flight scheduled for August will operate using the current prioritisation process.
September 2021 onwards – once booking requests are processed, persons wishing to travel are required to make a 10% deposit two weeks thereafter. Seats are confirmed once the 10% deposit payments are received. The remaining balance payments for seats are then due to be paid in full six weeks before the flight departure. Failure to pay the balance on time will result in the booking being cancelled.
Cancellation of Bookings
Should travellers wish to cancel their booking, a confirmation of this must be received at least six weeks prior to the flight departure; failure to do so will result in the deposit being forfeited.
Should passengers wish to change their booking and providing they have given the necessary notification six weeks before the original flight departure date, their deposit for the original booking can be transferred to the new flight requested.
A number of seats will be designated on departing and arriving flights to accommodate any emergency bookings such as medical referrals.
Reminder of the Titan flight schedule for September 2021 onwards
Details of the scheduled days of operations are listed below, the flight times will be similar to those flown previously:
Bookings
Bookings for these flights can be made immediately.
Bookings should be submitted to the SHG Civil Aviation team via email: christina.plato@sainthelena.gov.sh or telephone: (+290) 22477.
For those based on Ascension Island, or wishing to travel to or from Ascension Island, please contact the Shipping and Travel Office via email: flight.bookings@ascension.gov.ac.
Customers wishing to book commercial or government airfreight for carriage on these flights are advised to use an appropriate freight forwarding agent to make the necessary arrangements.
SHG
1 July 2021
The Capital Programme Section will be holding a series of public information meetings during July 2021. These meetings are being held to give an update on the Economic Development Investment Programme (EDIP), including Rupert’s Wharf Cargo Handling Facility Development, Side Path Road and Field Road Rehabilitation.
All meetings will take place at 7pm as follows:
| Date | Venue |
| Monday, 12 July | St Michael’s Church, Rupert’s |
| Tuesday, 13 July | Half Tree Hollow Community Centre |
| Wednesday, 14 July | Museum of Saint Helena, Jamestown |
| Monday, 19 July | Sandy Bay Community Centre |
| Tuesday, 20 July | Harford Community Centre |
Members of the public are encouraged to attend.
SHG
1 July 2021
Works to reduce the height and spread of two Ficus trees, located behind the Public Library and Judicial Services buildings in the Castle Gardens, will take place from Monday, 5 July, through to Friday, 9 July, and from Monday, 19 July, to Friday, 23 July 2021, in the first instance. These works are being carried out by the Forestry Section of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Division (ANRD), working collaboratively with Crown Estates.
To enable this work to be safely undertaken, an area directly behind the Public Library and Judicial Services buildings will be cordoned off to allow the positioning of plant, and tree operations to occur.
Entrance to the cordoned area is restricted to authorised contractors and ANRD staff only. The public will still be able to access Ann’s Place, SAMS or the Terrace by use of the designated paths, outside of the cordoned area.
SHG
1 July 2021
Statistical updates for Arrivals and Departures and have been released on June 29, 2021 as follows:
Arrivals and Departures, up to May 2021
Additional statistical series and indicators are available at https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/, and published statistical reports, including Statistical Bulletins, can be found on the statistics reports and publications page of the SHG website: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/statistics-reports-and-publications/.
We welcome comments and suggestions on any of the statistics published by the Statistics Office. Please email: statistics@sainthelena.gov.sh, call tel: 22138, or visit the office in person on the first floor of the Castle, Jamestown.
During the month of June communities around the world celebrate Pride Month. Global Pride Day is 27June 2021.
As International Pride Month draws to a close, the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Plus) or Pride flag will be flown on the Court House flagpole in Jamestown, and at Plantation House.
This year on St Helena’s Day Saints came together to celebrate cultural diversity. The Island’s commitment to providing a supportive and welcoming society is an abiding principle in our culture. Pride Month is about tolerance, appreciating LGBTQ+ history, while we reflect on the journey many have travelled and reaffirm our commitment to move forward together in equality to complete work yet to be done.
Twenty-eight countries and territories in the world, including St Helena, recognise same-sex marriage, and 34 others provide for some partnership recognition for same-sex couples. As of December 2020, 81 countries had laws against discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. Twenty years ago, there were only 15. However, there are 69 countries that still criminalise being gay with penalties ranging from imprisonment to death.
Pride Month calls on individuals to remember how damaging homophobia was and still is within societies. It is about being proud of who you are no matter who you love.
#StHelena #LGBTQ+ #PrideMonth
https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/
SHG
29 June 2021
St Helena Police are currently conducting an education and awareness programme for the local community. Each week a different topic will be aired on local radio stations, issued via information releases and posted on Social Media.
This week’s topic is Underage Drinking:
St Helena Police have a duty of care to everyone including vulnerable people and children. Anyone under the age of 18 years is a child by law. All children are vulnerable because of their age.
There have been a number of occasions where Police have picked up a child who has consumed alcohol to such an extent that they are no longer in control of their body. This is a very serious concern for the Police. The risk of harm to the child is not only from the alcohol itself but in this state they are also more easily exposed to sexual predators or physical harm.
There are cases on St Helena where children engage in underage drinking either through experimentation, peer pressure, common misconception or as a coping mechanism. For whatever reason children choose to drink alcohol, if not recognised or stopped it can become a dangerous habit, risking their welfare and health.
Underage drinking might seem appealing or ‘cool’ to children but it has adverse and regrettable side effects which could lead to alcohol abuse later in life.
Alcohol has the same effects on children as it has on adults including impaired cognitive functions, higher risk of mental and sexual related problems, liver cirrhosis, heart disease and throat and mouth cancer, to name but a few.
Alcohol abuse can also impact a child’s social life, which can lead to shame, disgust, depression and often suicidal tendencies.
Here are some of signs of underage drinking or of a child suffering from alcohol abuse: Involuntary tremors, social withdrawal, anxiety, an inability to control emotions, over confidence, depression, unexplained cuts or bruises, sudden inability to control bladder and bowel movement, nausea, vomiting and unexplained headaches.
So what can we do as a community to help?
We can reduce the risk of underage drinking by addressing what has started or caused it. Communicate with the child or young loved one. Ask why they are doing this. Instead of disciplining them offer help and suggestions on how they can stop.
The issues may seem small but it may have a huge impact on them.
If we take the time to address a problem early we are not only helping our children but also preventing further issues from occurring such as behavioural disorders or other offences being committed. If you see or suspect a child is suffering from alcohol abuse do not ignore but instead talk to them.
Alcohol and the law
It is against the law to sell alcohol to a child and it is against the law to buy alcohol for a child. Please do not encourage children to drink alcohol. If you see a child drinking alcohol report it to the Police.
As children, we may be drawn to temptation and can be pressured or tempted to try something just to fit in. Children face many problems whether it be bullying, social anxiety, learning difficulties, making friends or trying to impress someone. The biggest issue for some children is opening up to someone and telling someone what is really happening in their lives. Often these children find it easier just to
bottle their emotions and express it in another way sometimes through underage drinking, drug use or through crime.
An adult who participated in underage drinking bravely shared their story with us. They said:
“As a child I was constantly pressured to improve my education. Parents and friends were always telling me I could do better, or that I was not good enough. I got fed up with this negativity that just added more fuel to an uncontrollable fire.
I wanted to be better; I already knew that my performance needed improving but I constantly
self-doubted so I didn’t need others to pile it on. It came to a point where I couldn’t take anymore and my emotions turned into rage. Drinking, smoking and lashing out are what helped me to cope. It was my safety net before I hit rock bottom.
I could have been supported and shown or given advice on how to improve my performance and
complimented on the work I had already done. This is the only way I felt I could have been encouraged or helped.
As a child my biggest fear, even though I did not admit it, was fear. I thought that asking for help would have made me look weak, that I would let people down and would be humiliated for it. Instead, all I was looking for was help, for someone to talk to, and to be reassured that I was not facing these issues alone.”
St Helena Police are committed to keeping our children safe and we ask that as a community you do the same.
#StHelena #StHelenaPolice #UnderageDrinking
https://www.facebook.com/StHelenaGovt/
SHG
29 June 2021