The Highways Authority has given approval for the road from The Cenotaph to Donny’s Place at the Seafront, and five parking spaces in front of the Court House, Jamestown, to be closed on the morning of Sunday, 12 November 2023, in order for the Remembrance Sunday Service to take place.
The road and area surrounding the Cenotaph as well as the parking spaces in front of the Court House will be closed from 3am on Sunday, 12 November, until the ceremony has been concluded.
The Highways Authority has also given approval for the road from the Canister to the Seafront to be closed from 10:45 for 10 minutes on the same day to allow the Uniformed Contingents to march.
Appropriate signs will be in place and the public is thanked in advance for their cooperation.
The public are advised that Driving Competency Tests will be unavailable between 15 November 2023 and 18 December 2023.
Should you wish to book a driving test in the meantime, please contact Police Headquarters by telephone on: 22626. Anyone wishing to book a Driving Competency Test after 18 December 2023 should do so by calling the Vehicle Inspector by telephone on 23695.
Learner Drivers and their Driving Instructors are reminded that:
Before booking a Driving Competency Test, learner drivers are required to complete learning for a minimum of six weeks or have driven for a minimum of 100 hours.
Prior to undertaking a Driving Competency Test, the Driving Examiner will require the Learner Driver to produce proof of their Provisional Driver’s Licence, vehicle licence and insurance, and will check that the vehicle is safe to be used on the road before the commencement of the test. In addition, Learner Drivers are required to produce a letter from their Driving Instructor stating that the Learner Driver has been learning for six weeks or 100 hours and that they (the Instructor) believe that they are ready to take the test. Please note this letter is not required for Learner Drivers of motorcycles and scooters. If the Learner Driver is not able to produce these documents, the test will be postponed.
The public are thanked in advance for their cooperation.
As noted in the update of 20 October, Sunday closures of Side Path Road are being considered where this may help to accelerate the completion of Field Road rehabilitation works.
A request has been received from the contractor for two Sunday closures during November to enable them to complete the works faster. The Highways Authority has considered and approved these. Side Path Road will therefore be closed on 5 November and 19 November 2023.
Road closure and diversion signs will be in place, with access to and from Jamestown still being available via Constitution Hill Road and Ladder Hill Road.
With the low levels of traffic generally experienced on Sundays, the contractor will not be implementing any further traffic management measures.
For any questions regarding the Field Road site works, please contact the EDIP Site Supervisor, Mr Chris Williams, by telephone on 67424.
The Royal St Helena Police are investigating an incident that occurred between West Lodge and Blue Hill, between 8:00pm and 2:00 last night.
The police would like to speak to anyone who may have been in that area between those times on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Anyone who was is encouraged to contact Police Headquarters by telephone on 22626 or by email through cid@sainthelena.gov.sh.
The public are advised that the Post and Customer Services Centre will be closed from 13:30 on Wednesday 01 November 2023. Normal business will resume on Thursday 02 November 2023.
The Claims Office, Income Tax, Procurement as well as the Finance Offices will also be closed from 14:00 on Wednesday 01 November 2023. Normal business will resume on Thursday 2 November 2023.
The public are thanked in advance for their understanding and cooperation.
The MT Sarah is now scheduled to arrive, earlier than previously announced, on Friday 27 October 2023 at 13:00. Once arrived it will dock alongside Ruperts Jetty. Bunkering operations will commence as soon as the vessel is cleared.
The whole of lower Ruperts, including the beach area, will be closed to the public from 13:00 on Friday 27 October 2023 until the bunkering of fuel is completed. This is currently anticipated to take around two days, conditions permitting. These areas will be strictly prohibited and is limited only to those persons who have made prior arrangements for authorisation from Port Control.
The public are thanked in advance for their patience and co-operation.
The fuel tanker MT Sarah is scheduled to arrive at St Helena on Saturday 28 October 2023, at 3.30am and will dock alongside Rupert’s Jetty at 6am. Bunkering operations will commence as soon as the vessel is cleared.
The whole of lower Rupert’s, including the beach area, will be closed to the public from Saturday 28 October 2023, until the bunkering of fuel is completed. These areas will be strictly prohibited and access will be limited only to those persons who have made prior arrangements with Port Control.
The public are thanked in advance for their patience and cooperation.
The public are advised thata temporary one way system will be in place in the direction of Gordons Post to Hutts Gate along Tomb Road on Wednesday, 25 October 2023, from 9am to 12 noon.
Traffic wishing to travel in the opposite direction will be diverted from Hutts Gate to Gordons Post via The Dungeon, as per the map below:
The one way system will be clearly signed and will be removed as soon as no longer required.
The one way system has been put in place in order to more safely manage traffic and ease congestion, given the anticipated increase in vehicle volumes due to the visit of the MV Vasco Da Gama cruise ship. This is the same process as has been put in place in previous years, and for the last cruise ship visit, and is likely to also be a feature during future cruise ship visits.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank the public for their understanding in this matter.
Further to the announcement on 17 October that a prohibition had been introduced on the import of certain poultry products from South Africa, the date for the prohibition on the import of these products by air has been amended so that it takes effect from 23 October.
This means that the conditions of the prohibitions are as follows:
Product
Territory originating from, produced in, OR repackaged in
Prohibition
Date
Live poultry
South Africa
Prohibited
By air: 23 October 2023 By sea: After departure of Voyage 5 of Maria da Paz
Bird eggs whether entire or without shell
South Africa
Prohibited
By air: 23 October 2023 By sea: After departure of Voyage 5 of Maria da Paz
Raw meat of all bird species
South Africa
Prohibited
By air: 23 October 2023 By sea: After departure of Voyage 5 of Maria da Paz
Raw offal of all bird species
South Africa
Prohibited
By air: 23 October 2023 By sea: After departure of Voyage 5 of Maria da Paz
The ban does not include commercially packaged pre-cooked chicken or cooked chicken products such as may be included as an ingredient in canned goods, pizzas, pies etc.
At this time there is no prohibition on imports of these products from territories other than South Africa.
If you require further information please contact:
Alternatively, both officers can be contacted on telephone 24724.
Note to Editors
A statement from the South African Government on 25 September 2023 indicated that up to the 21 September 2023, a total of 50 H7 and 10 HPAI H5 reports have been confirmed. New cases are being reported in all types of commercial chicken in the provinces of Kwazulu-Natal, Western Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West respectively. Gauteng Province has being the hardest hit, with HPAI H7 outbreaks and the Western Cape is the hardest hit with regards to the HPAI H5 strain. The natural reservoir of the viruses are the aquatic birds such as shore birds, waders and sea birds and these are largely unaffected.
There have been HPAI outbreaks of significance in South Africa in 2017 and 2021 of the N1 and H5N8 strains. This H5N8 strain has never been known to infect humans. The H5N1 has infected humans, but it is extremely rare to do so. In fact since 2003 there have only ever been 700 cases, and these were mostly in communities where people have closely cohabited with their infected poultry, and from the cultural consumption of raw chicken meat and even blood.
Two cruise ships are scheduled to arrive at St Helena in the coming week.
The cruise ship Le Lyrial is scheduled to arrive at St Helena at 7am on Sunday 22 October, and will depart at 4pm on Tuesday 24 October 2023. The MV Vasco Da Gama is scheduled to arrive at 6am on Wednesday 25 October 2023, and will depart at 6pm the same day.
For the duration of thesevisits, access to the Jamestown Wharf will be strictly prohibited and is limited only to authorised personnel who have made prior arrangements with Port Control.
Whilst these vessels are in port, a 200M exclusion zone must be adhered to by all marine traffic.
Boat owners are also advised that during the time the Vasco de Gama is in port, no maintenance work will be permitted to be carried out any boat that is currently situated on the wharf.
In addition, HM Customs will also be closed whilst the Vasco de Gama is in port.
