15 December 2020

Covid-19 arrangements during Christmas and the New Year

As thoughts turn to the festive season, the Falkland Islands Government would like to remind the public of the need to remain vigilant as visitors return to the Islands from overseas. The enhanced quarantine measures, brought into force on 16 November, require travellers to stay separate from others sharing their accommodation, unless they are quarantining together as a group.

People are required to travel to their place of quarantine accommodation using government-designated transport or, if using a private vehicle, must travel alone or with others who will be quarantining with them. Should anyone test positive for Covid-19 during that time, they are not permitted to leave quarantine until they have twice tested negative for the coronavirus and have fulfilled their 14 days in isolation.

The government will continue with its weekly Covid-19 swabbing updates as follows:

• Tuesday 15 December at 4:30pm
• Tuesday 22 December at 4:30pm

There will be no weekly swabbing update on Tuesday 29 December, as this is a government holiday, however the update will resume from Tuesday 5 January 2021. Should there be an urgent need to communicate with the public during the Christmas break then contingency plans are in place.

Chief Executive, Barry Rowland, said: “We remain very fortunate in the Falkland Islands and, due to the success of our quarantine surveillance swabbing, we have been able to contain the coronavirus and prohibit it from spreading. We will continue to keep the public updated on new developments as we continue in our efforts to keep our community safe; but for the moment I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and thank you all for being vigilant and following the rules.”

KEMH would like to remind everyone that if you have a cold or flu-like illness, or gastrointestinal sickness, then please stay at home to prevent the spread of the infection. If you are unwell with a viral-type illness do not attend the hospital, but call 28000 for advice. The symptoms of Covid-19 are:

• A new or worsening cough
• A high temperature
• Shortness of breath
• Sore throat
• Sneezing and runny nose
• Temporary loss of taste or smell