By: Pamela Diaz, (Marketing & Information Manager) Nevis Air & Sea Ports Authority
NASPA Long Point Nevis (March 09th, 2020) – In an effort to continue our preemptive measures and to fortify our ports on the island from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the Nevis Air and Sea Ports Authority, in conjunction with the St. Kitts and Nevis Customs and Excise Department-Nevis Division and the St. Kitts and Nevis Immigration Department- Nevis Division, have implemented a series of initiatives to prevent and combat the possible spreading of the COVID-19 infection to the general public.
Operations Manager at the Vance W Amory International Airport (VAIA), Micahail Manners outlined the initiatives undertaken by the NASPA.
“The major points of entry for Nevis are the VAIA and the Charlestown Port. For persons to use the Oualie Port, they would have had to use the Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw International Airport, who are conducting the same screening as the VAIA here. The Long Point Port is closely monitored by healthcare officials and security to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“Some of the measures include having a designated healthcare facility that will be monitored by healthcare officials stationed at the Charlestown Port and the VAIA. A nurse will be stationed at the VAIA to monitor each international flight and provide each passenger with proper health screenings.
Manners highlighted that all international passengers arriving at the ports of entry namely the Charlestown Sea Port and the VAIA will be subjected to medical screening by health officials of the Ministry of Health in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA).
He explained that the screenings will be done in phases, the first phase will include a visual screening of all passengers which include checking for symptoms of the virus and other medical checks. The next phase will include a series of questions to retain a thorough travel history from passengers to ensure transparency and accuracy.
“We also installed a series of hand sanitizing stations in strategic high traffic places around all ports on the island and we have stepped up our educational sessions with increased training for all agencies which include the immigration and customs departments, airport security and airline agents. These training sessions have contributed to the participants knowledge of the virus and how to implement proper care,” he said.
The Operations Manager stated that the NASPA has also provided key personnel at all ports with a safety training kit that include gloves, masks, disinfectants and other miscellaneous cleaning agents.
“We also increased security measures at all ports to ensure compliance and transparency with international passengers and I’m confident that the port is doing everything possible to prevent the COVID-19 from entering our ports and we will continue to improve and amend our procedures as we continue to keep our port officers and public safe.
Manners used the opportunity to encourage the public to comply with new measures and procedures at all ports.
“We ask the public to be supportive of the measures put in place by the Authority for your safety and security,” he said.
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