Britain sends £2.5million of PPE gear and even ventilators 5,000 miles round the world to St Helena – even though tiny island has NO cases of coronavirus
- Masks, gloves, gowns and five ventilators were sent to island in Atlantic Ocean
- Comes amid warnings of crippling shortages of PPE within the NHS
- Two reports of people with symptoms on the island turned out to be false alarms
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Britain has sent £2.5million of PPE to the isolated island of St Helena even though no cases of coronavirus have been reported in the outpost.
The masks, gloves, gowns and five ventilators are expected to touch down in the Atlantic ocean island, which counts 4,300 inhabitants, today.
It comes amid warnings of crippling shortages in the NHS that could leave doctors and nurses exposed to Covid-19 and patients without ventilators. More than 100 NHS workers have died since the outbreak began.
St Helena has just 4,300 inhabitants. Above is pictured Diana’s peak on the isolated island
A flight was chartered to the island from the UK via Accra, Ghana, following reports of two people with Covid-like symptoms, reports EuroWeekly, but this turned out to be a false alarm.
The residents self-isolated after experiencing a mild cough and headache but have since recovered, according to authorities.
Three suspected cases on nearby Ascension Island also tested negative for the virus last month.
Anyone travelling to the islands will be quarantined for 14 days, the UK Foreign Office says, with food delivered to their doors and each allowed to exercise providing they keep a five metre distance from others.
The island’s governor, Dr Philip Rushbrook, said that as they had a population with a ‘larger than normal number of older and less healthy people’ they would be taking additional precautions.
‘At times like these, it is crucial that we pull together as an island, using our good nature, compassion and resourcefulness for the greater good,’ he said.
Below is Jamestown, the capital of St Helena. Emergency coronavirus supplies have also been sent to the Pitcairn islands and Tristan da Cunha
Emergency coronavirus supplies are also been sent to neighbouring British overseas territories the Pitcairn Islands, with 50 residents, and Tristan da Cunha, with 250 residents.
Both have little contact with the outside world and, due to the pandemic, no one is allowed to disembark from yachts there.
UK deaths from coronavirus have now topped 20,000 as pressure continues to mount on the government to announce an exit strategy from lockdown.
Boris Johnson is expected back in Downing Street on Monday to lead a return to normal life in the UK.
Plans muted for the country have included a traffic lights system which would see some schools opening first before pubs are opened last.
The Welsh and Scottish government have published exit strategies.