After 12 years of continuous service at Strachan House care home in Edinburgh, much-loved senior nurse Dawn Sharp has decided to retire.
Dawn had worked for the company since 1995 across many of Barchester’s services before spending her last 12 years at Strachan House. The home couldn’t have been happier to have Dawn with us throughout the years providing a steady hand and a calm approach.
Staff and residents at the home sent Dawn off in style with flowers, cards and a huge hug of course. Everyone at the home has very fond memories of Dawn and she will be sadly missed.
During her time at Strachan House Dawn has been a wonderful nurse, someone dependable with Gladys one of the residents saying Dawns wonderful nature was the reason she was her favourite.
Dawn said: “Strachan House is like a family to me and though I’m looking forward to retirement, I’m really going to miss everyone here so much!”
Fran Fisher General Manager at Strachan House said: “Dawn is one of those people who was born to care for others – she has such a huge heart and was greatly loved by the individuals living at Strachan House Care Home. She was an inspiration to her colleagues and we will all miss her. We wish her all the best!”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
First ever Highland Games-inspired Supermarket Sweep
Aldi Scotland challenges Edinburgh shoppers to take on Scotland’s strongest men in its first ever Highland Games inspired Supermarket Sweep
Aldi Scotland is kicking off the 2026 Highland Games season with a first of its kind, high-energy trolley dash, challenging shoppers across the country to take on the world’s strongest brothers in a Highland Games inspired Supermarket Sweep, all in support of CHAS.
Coinciding with the opening games of the season at Gourock, the retailer is inviting duos to apply for the chance to beat the time set by strongmen Luke and Tom Stoltman, in a one-of-a-kind trolley dash, with winners also taking home their haul of goods.
Putting a fresh spin on the much-loved Supermarket Sweep format, the selected pair will be invited to compete in the ultimate in-store showdown, where strength, speed and skill will be put to the test. The challenge includes a range of new Highland Games-style challenges, from haggis hurling to trolley tug o’war. Their final shop total will be donated to CHAS, and if they beat the time set by the Stoltman brothers, they’ll double their haul.
Applications open from 10 May until 10 June, with entrants required to apply as a duo.
Each year, CHAS supports more than 500 babies, children and young people across Scotland with life-shortening conditions, along with their families. In 2026, every penny raised through Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep will go directly to the charity, with £10,000 pledged in support.
Sandy Mitchell, Regional Managing Director, Aldi Scotland, said:“Supporting local suppliers and celebrating Scottish culture is central to what we do, and our first-ever Highland Games–inspired Supermarket Sweep is a fantastic way to bring those together with our community initiative.
“Teaming up with Scotland’s strongest brothers adds a real sense of fun and competition, and we’re looking forward to seeing how challengers rise to the occasion. It is a brilliant way to celebrate national tradition while raising valuable funds for CHAS and the life-changing support they provide to children and families across Scotland.”
Offering advice to future contestants, Luke Stoltman added: “There’s more to it than just strength. Speed, teamwork and a bit of strategy will all come into play.
“We’re always up for a challenge, but this one’s a bit different from what we’re used to. Mixing Highland Games events with Aldi’s Supermarket Sweep is something really unique, and it’s going to be great fun seeing how people get on.
“Most importantly, it’s all for a brilliant cause, and we’re proud to be supporting CHAS and the incredible work they do for families across Scotland”
Entry is free and customers can apply by emailing ‘Highland Sweep’, their names, phone number and chosen store to supermarketsweep@aldi.co.uk before 10 June.
Summerhall Arts’ third and final festival programme announcement – on sale 6th May – includes the UK’s first purpose-built theatre sauna and new shows from Shaparak Khorsandi, Hannah Maxwell, Francesca Moody Productions, Thaddeus Phillips, theatregoose, and much, much more
Summerhall Arts announces the final 30 shows of its 2026 festival and the news that an 80-seat Sauna Theatre – the largest sauna in the UK – will occupy its rear courtyard in August, with a programme of theatre, music, dance, and some of the world’s best Aufguss artists
Award-winning British-Iranian comedian and author, Shaparak Khorsandi, presents a work in progress performance of her debut play, Kismet (قسمت), based on true life experiences of her family following the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Acclaimed Fringe favourite Hannah Maxwell (BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG; Nan, Me & Barbara Pravi) premieres her new show, Turn Your Fucking Phones Off
Francesca Moody Productions (Fleabag; Baby Reindeer) and Global Creatures (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) present ROLEPLAY – a new, NSFW one woman play from actress, comic and podcaster Hannah Reilly (The Deb)
Fringe legend Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips brings a new Georges Méliès-inspired theatrical blend of micro-cinema, magic and puppetry with ArounD the WorlD in 80 ToyS
Serial Fringe hit makers, theatregoose (Aether; Sisters Three; Her Green Hell)premiere THE PLOT – a new play set around the Gunpowder Plot
Summerhall Arts Surgeries returns with two showcases and support for eight companies, and Summerhall Yoga returns for the duration of the 2026 festival
Four shows from House of Oz, including Concerts of the Future – a VR experience that allows you to play along with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Other highlights include the UK premiere of The Subplot: A hyperfixation on the Titan submersible;part play, part extreme workout, The Distance, from former GB athlete and Archers star Ben Norris; and a new play inspired by Tina Packer’s Women of Will graces the Summerhall stage for a limited run.
Home of boundary-pushing performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, arts charity Summerhall Arts,whichprovides year round support and development for artists as well as an annual exhibition programme hub; has announced the final30 shows of the 2026 instalment of its renowned festival programme and the news that the UK’s first purpose-built theatre sauna will occupy Summerhall’s back courtyard this August.
Adding to the 42 shows already announced, from companies including Xhloe and Natasha, Adam Riches, YESYESNONO, Creepy Boys, Salty Brine, Lightning Rod Special, and Wonder Fools; Summerhall Arts’ third programme announcement continues to exemplify bold, diverse and intersectional work of the highest quality. 50% of these shows are from international artists and companies, and Sauna Theatre will bring some of the world’s greatest Aufguss (an immersive experience using heat, essential oils, towel work and storytelling) artists to perform at Summerhall throughout August.
The Aufguss Master, Meg Hopkinson performs a routine ahead of the shows this summer which will take place in the UK’s first purpose-built Sauna Theatre’s, tickets are now on sale for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme at summerhallarts.co.uk
Tom Forster, Programmer & Producer at Summerhall Arts, commented:“It’s an immense privilege to present Summerhall Arts’ second festival programme in full. 2026 runs from drag kings to ballet, opera to satire, ceilidh to Aufguss.
“It cuts across class, identity, conflict, memory, care, and the digital age. Bold artists, urgent ideas — asking us to sit and sweat it out.”
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce an exciting new collaboration with director James Grieve and designer Lucy Osborne, who previously designed and launched Paines Plough’s famous Roundabout theatre – a mainstay at Summerhall for so many years – who this year present the first project of their new company, Sauna Sessions Arts Club.
Occupying Summerhall’s back courtyard will be the UK’s largest sauna and the first to be purpose built to showcase theatre, art and culture. Literally the hottest new venue on the Fringe,Sauna Theatre will bring together an ambitious programme of Aufguss, theatre, spoken word, literature and music; all with the soothing heat of the sauna.
The 80-seat Sauna Theatre will host a diverse programme catering to both sauna regulars and culture lovers: ranging from morning raves to mysterious stories of ancient Scotland, the return of Nick Cassenbaum’s acclaimed Schvitz-based show, Bubble Schmeisis (Summerhall, 2016), to Virginia Woolf reimaginings.
The sauna environment increases endorphins, relaxes muscles and encourages blood flow – all helping to heighten audiences’ senses and creating an immersive experience, allowing audiences to focus fully on art without distraction.
Sam Gough, CEO of Summerhall Arts, commented:“We couldn’t be more excited to be bringing this ambitious Aufguss project here. It is a brilliant, brave and fun programme of work delivered in the most beautiful and innovative way and could not be more Summerhall Arts!
“This collaboration came about through our shared love for bold ideas and groundbreaking approaches to the arts, housed within one of Edinburgh’s most innovative and experimental venues. What better way to develop our space, in our second year of reimagining everything we do here. Where is my towel?”
James Grieve, Co-Creator of Sauna Theatre, added:“It is thrilling to be launching this new pop-up space on the very same spot we launched Roundabout in 2014 at a venue and festival that means so much to us.
“We’re so excited to welcome Edinburgh audiences to relax, revive and be inspired in Sauna Theatre at Summerhall Arts.”
Once audiences have showered, changed, and blow-dried their hair; they can venture back into the heart of Summerhall and experience the rest of Summerhall Arts’ boundary-pushing programme.
This year, this includes a work in progress of a new play written and performed by acclaimed comedian and author, Shaparak Khorsandi. Based on her best-selling novel, Nina’s Not Okay, Kismet (قسمت) is about the true life experiences of her Iranian family, scattered around the globe after the 1979 Iranian Revolution – and features original live music by Jean Delkhaste, aka Smiling Beth.
Multi-award-winning storyteller Hannah Maxwell returns to Summerhall after acclaimed turns with Nan, Me and Barbara Pravi (★★★★★- The Financial Times) in 2023 and BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG (★★★★ – The Guardian) in 2025. With dramaturgy by Ursula Martinez and Rachel Mars, Hannah premieres Turn Your Fucking Phones Off – a timely, autobiographical, and interactive work about digital toxification and mis/disinformation.
And the producer of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, Francesca Moody Productions, teams up with Global Creatures (Moulin Rouge! The Musical) to present ROLEPLAY – a new, NSFW one woman show from actress, comic and podcaster Hannah Reilly (The Deb). Paige Rattray (Fangirls) directs this red-hot interrogation of modern sex, womanhood and the commodification of feminism in the age of the personal brand.
Chaplin-esque legend of the Fringe, Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips (Zoo Motel; 17 Border Crossings) returns to Edinburgh with a new theatrical journey into the realm of micro-cinema, classic magic, and object puppetry. ArounD the WorlD in 80 ToyS is a haunting and touching homage to the movies inspired by the world’s first film director, Georges Méliès.
Award-winning theatre company theatregoose returns to Summerhall with a fourth show in a row written and directed by Emma Howlett (The Stage’s Fringe Five 2025), after consecutive sell-out hits Aether, Sisters Three, and Her Green Hell. Premiering this year, THE PLOT is a new play set around the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, exploring rebellion, reinvention, and the power of a great story.
Summerhall Arts Surgeries returns this Fringe with 2 showcases providing financial support to 8 artists or companies and the opportunity to showcase their unfinished work to peers, producers and industry. Building on the spirit of experimentation that defines Summerhall Arts, the Surgeries provide a safe, collaborative environment to test ideas, exchange feedback, and discover new possibilities for their work. Open to all forms of live performance, this is the fourth year of the Surgeries, which have now expanded to the Spring as well and have so far supported 40 companies to present work to almost 8000 audience members.
Also in keeping with Summerhall Arts’ commitment to keeping creative juices flowing, as well as maintaining good mental and physical health throughout August, Summerhall Yoga will return for the duration of this year’s festival. Our resident Yogi, Olga, will give morning yoga classes, which are free for our staff and artists, and bookable for everyone else.
Summerhall Arts is thrilled that champions of Australian performance, House of Oz, will present four shows in the programme this year. Co-presented by The Sonicrats and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Concerts of the Future is a cutting-edge participatory VR music experience that gives audiences of all musical capabilities the chance to perform Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 7 with one of Australia’s premier orchestras.
Joel Bray Dance presents the UK premiere of acclaimed Aboriginal choreographer Joel Bray’s show, DADDY – a seductive, provocative, and candy-coloured interrogation of colonialism. Theatre Republic presents Emily Steel’s award-winning semi-autobiographical play, How Not To Make It In America – a heartbreakingly funny show about chasing your dreams, the U.S. in the aftermath of 9/11, and which sees one man play twenty-eight different characters.
Acclaimed contemporary dance-theatre company The Farm premiere a powerful, raw and emotional work about two siblings, one of whom has Down’s syndrome. Expressed through dance, theatre and storytelling, Glass Child highlights how their lives and connection are affected by the perceptions of others.
Outwith House of Oz, the Australian contingent continues. Sophie Smyth brings her award-nominated autism and ADHD powered one-woman odyssey of sub, sea, and self: The subplot: A hyperfixation on the Titan submersible. And, winner of this year’s Adelaide Fringe Edinburgh Touring Award: South Australian theatre company The CRAM Collective present their acclaimed exploration of grief and lasagne, Meteors, for its UK premiere.
Another big hit in Australia and the winner of the overall Best Theatre and Physical Theatre award in Adelaide, acclaimed comedian Kirsty Mann returns to Summerhall after a sold-out work in progress run last year. Produced by Impatient Productions, she presents the UK premiere of her award winning show, CORPSE – a real-life ghost story with a difference.
Moving to the theme of endurance, from a starry producing team – Global Creative, Grace Dickson Productions and Nic Doodson Productions – behind a combination of musical (SIX; The Choir of Man) and Fringe hits (Playfight; Lady Killer), comes the world premiere of The Distance. Part play, part extreme workout, this is a sweat-drenched exploration of ambition, identity and letting go from former GB athlete and Archers star, Ben Norris.
Summerhall Arts is excited to welcome Siofra Dromgoole’s brand new play, Women of Will, based on the seminal work by actress, director and founder of Shakespeare & Company Tina Packer. Presented by Women of Will Productions, Paul-Lou Lemieux, in association with Soho Theatre, this new pub-based celebration of Shakespeare’s heroines stars Ella Louden, who was directed by Tina Packer in productions of Titus Andronicus and Cymbeline, and Nigel Gore who starred in the original adaptation.
If audiences still prefer their saunas imagined, they can join the inhabitants of Peckham Pulse Leisure Centre as they cook themselves into a frenzy, with Thermodrama. Presented by emerging theatre company Lovecock Productions, Coco Cottam’s new comic-tragic play tackles the toxicity of wellness culture and how the cult of self-improvement affects society’s most vulnerable.
More exciting Scottish work joins the likes of Autopsy Award winner Althea Young, including BULL / FIGHT – an exciting co-production from emerging Edinburgh-based theatre collective Mythography and Stirling’s Macrobert Arts Centre, about the death and legacy of poet and playwright Federica García Lorca, set during the Spanish Civil War.
Acclaimed Glasgow-based artist, performer, and Instagram reel-based arts sector agitator, Craig Manson presentsBunny! – a darkly comic take on the ‘critically acclaimed solo show’ that fuses live art, cabaret and musical theatre to tell the story of aspiring theatre starlet and serial killer, Bunny. And, new Scottish theatre company Trolley Problem (Mistero Buffalo – The Citz, 2026) premiere Nesting – an experimental, multidisciplinary and magical realist performance that explores assisted dying, neurodegenerative illness and the ethics of care.
Summerhall Arts is delighted that so many artists and companies return to Summerhall after past successes. This year, independent theatre company withintheatre, who cast their theatre ire at authoritarian regimes and had critically acclaimed turns with 1984 (2024) and Julia. 1984 (2025), presents Boogie on the Bones.
Based on the novel by acclaimed Russian screenwriter Yurii Korotkov, this musical political play, set in Soviet-era Moscow, explores how youth cultures resist repression and conformity through jazz, dance, and underground culture. And, acclaimed comedian Derek Mitchell follows his sell-out show Goblin (2025) with a new work in progress performance.
Moving from political history to sexual and gender politics, Emmeline Hartley and Jack Mullings premiere We Had Fun, directed by Olivier and Tony awards-nominated Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (SIX: The Musical) – an un-romantic dark comedy and ‘fascinating exploration’ (Daniel Finkelstein, The Times) of the greyest areas of consent and sexual politics.
Magalie Rouillard-Bazinet presents a touching and humorous solo show about a young woman who loses her orgasm and herself: Homecumming explores taboos surrounding female sexuality and a wider conversation about mental health, shame, and self-worth. And, Katie Hurley and Sarah Hehir in association with Croydonites premiereMan or Bear – a fast-moving, darkly comic new play about fear, friendship and survival inspired by the viral question: ‘Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear?’
Directed by Ursual Martinez, it blends kitchen-sink realism, music and physical theatre, following three generations of women in the lead-up to an act of violence, focusing on women’s resilience and reflecting on modern day misogyny.
Staying on the politics of our times, acclaimed Philadelphia comedian, performer and writer Lee Minora (★★★★ – The Skinny) premieres Baby Everything – a hilarious, helter-skelter, and razor-sharp interrogation of anxiety in the digital age. Ricocheting between clown, storytelling and theatrical fantasy, audiences follow a hypochondriac protagonist trying to work out if the world’s actually getting worse or if we’re just looking too closely.
Irish theatremakers Oisín Kearney and Gina Donnelly present the UK premiere of their acclaimed play, Good With Faces, which won the Solas Nua New Voices Award at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2025. A taut thriller about a struggle for power between a worried mother and a concerned social worker, the piece is a complex exploration of the state versus the individual and what it means to care.
Multi-award-winning theatre company Chronic Insanity presents a brand new gig-theatre show featuring a live 00s-inspired indie band: Horrorshow explores class disparity, nostalgia, and regional identity, asking who cultural events are really for and who they leave behind. And, Jude Green premieres TOAST – a pitch-black comedy about Proper Jobs, class divides, and starving for your art. Perhaps the funniest show about systemic poverty on the Fringe.
Terracotta Productions brings Sitting (In Silence), the multi-award-winning debut play from emerging theatremaker Kitty Falcon – a tragi-comedy exploring mental health, grief, suicide loss and reconnection, rooted in lived experience and community storytelling. And, Give or Take Productions brings the winner of the Outstanding Theatre Award at Brighton Fringe 2024: funny, honest and deeply devastating, The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey is a dark fairytale in which the power of storytelling is used to make sense of great personal trauma.
Completing the 2026 installment of Summerhall Arts’ renowned festival programme, The Drolly Theater brings a unique, family-friendly ‘light puppeteering’ show. Through the power of puppetry, science and light, Magic Lantern Anthology guides audiences through future folklore and forgotten myths.
These 30 new shows, 9 shows at Sauna Theatre, and the 42 shows previously announced, are on sale now. Summerhall Arts’ festival runs from 6th – 31st August 2026.
A new service to help expectant parents with their emotional wellbeing during pregnancy has been launched in NHS Lothian by NSPCC Scotland this Maternal Mental Health Week (4-10 May).
Pregnancy in Mind (PiM) is an online group service that supports parents, who are expecting a baby, with complicated feelings that can arise during pregnancy. It is designed to create a safe and reassuring space for parents in weeks 12-26 of pregnancy so they can reflect on any concerns, worries, or low mood they may be experiencing.
PiM encourages them to reflect on their pregnancy as it progresses and their connection to their growing baby, encourages social support with other parents-to-be, and builds confidence for when their baby is born.
The programme has eight online group sessions, usually delivered weekly (for 90-120 minutes), from the start of the second trimester (12 weeks) plus two one-to-one online post-birth sessions.
The service is delivered by practitioners who are experienced in creating a warm, safe and supportive space where expectant parents can build confidence, develop helpful ways of coping, and connect with others as they navigate pregnancy and prepare for the arrival of their new baby.
The service brings together a range of evidence informed approaches, including mindfulness, relaxation, coping strategies, building confidence in understanding emotional wellbeing and developing supportive social connections.
Parents do not need to be experiencing severe symptoms to take part, the service is open to those who feel they would benefit from extra support during pregnancy. Introductions by health and social care workers to the service can be made at any point up to 26 weeks of pregnancy. The pregnant person, their partner, support person or the baby’s other parent can take part in the programme.
Alison MacDonald, Executive Nurse Director for NHS Lothian, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the NSPCC to add this programme to the range of support available to expectant parents.
“Mental health is just as important as physical health and this service offers early, practical support to parents who need it most, helping them to give their babies and children the best possible start in life.”
Jen Dixon, Team Manager at NSPCC Scotland, said: “Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week reminds us of the importance of emotional wellbeing during pregnancy.
When parents are finding things difficult, offering support to them as early as possible, can help them feel less alone as they prepare to meet their baby.
“Often parents join Pregnancy in Mind feeling uncertain, isolated or overwhelmed. Through the sessions, they connect with other parents who are experiencing similar feelings. The programme supports them to develop ways to improve their own wellbeing, leading them to feel more hopeful, confident and less overwhelmed when their baby is born.
“This supports their ability to create nurturing foundations and connections with their babies from the very beginning, including during pregnancy.”
For further information about PiM contact NSPCC Scotland by email:
A service providing emergency accommodation for people sleeping rough over winter will be able to continue throughout the year, thanks to a funding commitment by the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Welcome Centre, run by Bethany Christian Trust at the Council-owned ELS House on Gorgie Road, was due to cease operations at the end of April. The service will now be provided until March 2027, following a funding decision by Finance and Resources Committee on 28 April.
The Centre currently accommodates 64 households who have been rough sleeping in Edinburgh. Service users are offered three meals a day and support from Bethany paid staff, volunteers and Council officers to help access further accommodation.
Councillor Tim Pogson, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Bethany Christian Trust provides an essential service for people facing rough sleeping in Edinburgh and over the last three decades has helped thousands of people to secure a warm and safe place to sleep, particularly over the colder winter months.
“We don’t want people to have to sleep rough at any time of the year though, so I’m really pleased that we’ll be able to keep the Welcome Centre open throughout 2026.
“Reducing homelessness, and where possible preventing it in the first place, is central to our Housing Emergency Action Plan, alongside ambitious plans to increase the city’s housing supply, making sure everyone has somewhere to live.”
Alasdair Bennett, Chief Executive, Bethany Christian Trust, said: “It is a desperate circumstance to face the prospect of sleeping rough, and worse still to experience the trauma and harms involved.
“The Welcome Centre is a service borne out of adversity to relieve suffering and meet long-term needs when people have nowhere else to stay. I am deeply grateful to the many volunteers, supporters, churches, and our charitable and statutory partners who together enable this life-saving work, sharing a commitment to offer not only shelter and sustenance, but hope, dignity and the opportunity for a new start.
“We are very grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council for making this significant next step possible, and for the shared commitment to provide both immediate support and pathways out of homelessness all year round. As someone said to me recently: ‘when is it ever warm enough to be homeless?’
“Finally, I want to thank our staff team. Their dedication to love and service is inspiring. In the last 30 weeks alone, 400 people have been accommodated, supported and helped to move forward, each knowing that they are valued and cared for.”
Bethany Christian Trust has operated winter care shelters in Edinburgh since 1996 and the service has since evolved to provide 24/7 accommodation and support for people who would be otherwise sleeping rough from October to May each year.
The Welcome Centre moved to ELS house on Gorgie Road in 2025.
The Council’s Housing Emergency Action Plan sets out the requirement for a year-round Welcome Centre to meet increasing demand in the city.
Latest information on cases including British nationals
Statement from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO):
The UK government continues to work with international authorities in preparing for the arrival of British nationals to the UK from the MV Hondius cruise ship where an outbreak of Hantavirus was confirmed by the World Health Organization.
Two British nationals have confirmed hantavirus, with an additional suspected case of a British national on Tristan da Cunha. None of the British citizens onboard are currently reporting symptoms but they are being closely monitored.
The ship is expected to dock in Tenerife on Sunday, according to the latest updates from the Spanish Health Ministry. UK government staff will be on the ground ready to support the British nationals disembarking. British Passengers and ship crew not displaying any symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted by UK Government staff to an airport and given free passage back to the UK.
FCDO and UKHSA teams will be on the ground to support these arrangements, bolstered by a Rapid Deployment Team sent from the UK. The FCDO is chartering a dedicated repatriation flight for British ship passengers and crew only. This flight will be free of charge.
UKHSA is working with partners to ensure the flight operates under strict infection control measures. Public health and infectious disease specialists from UKHSA and the NHS will be on board to monitor British Nationals whilst on the flight, to ensure that preventative measures are in place and to provide any care in the unlikely event that any passengers become unwell on the flight.
All British passengers and crew on board the MV Hondius will be asked to isolate for 45 days upon returning to the UK and UKHSA will closely monitor these individuals, with testing as required.
Follow up is already underway for individuals who may have been in contact with cases and have since returned to the UK or are in in UK Overseas Territories. The UK government will ensure those self-isolating are given appropriate support.
UKHSA is aware of seven British Nationals who disembarked the ship at St Helena on 24 April.
Two of those people have returned to the UK independently and are isolating at home in the UK. Neither of these individuals is currently reporting symptoms. They are receiving advice and support from UKHSA and have been advised to self-isolate.
Four of these individuals remain in St Helena. A seventh individual has been traced outside of the UK.
The FCDO is in direct contact with the ship and British nationals on board and has stood up consular teams across multiple countries to support British nationals.
UK government is working very closely with international partners in response to this incident, including the cruise ship operator and the governments of UK overseas territories which were visited by the ship.
UK government teams are working at pace to get medical support to all affected Overseas Territories. The Ministry of Defence has worked with UKHSA to provide vital diagnostic supplies, including PCR tests, which were delivered to Ascension Island via a military plane on 7 May.
The risk to the general public remains very low.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Officer at UKHSA, said: “This is an evolving situation, and we are working closely with partners to support British Nationals on board the MV Hondius.
“The risk to the general population remains very low and the public can be reassured that established infection control measures will be put in place at every step of the journey to ensure the safe repatriation of British passengers on board.”
Further information on the repatriation of British nationals will be provided in due course.
JOURNALISTS and technical staff at STV will strike over pay, with the action affecting coverage of the Scottish election results today.
Around 100 workers will form picket lines outside the STV offices in Glasgow (Pacific Quay) and Aberdeen (Craigshaw Business Park) from 8:30am.
Please share solidarity messages with campaigns@nuj.org.uk or join them in-person if you’re in the area.
In March, members of both the NUJ and Bectu at STV voted for the industrial action over management’s decision to offer a 0% pay award, in one of the first strike ballots to be held under the new Employment Rights Act.
NUJ members also went on strike as part of a separate dispute in January, braving cold weather and heavy snow to oppose damaging cuts to jobs and local news.
Nick McGowan-Lowe, NUJ Scotland organiser,said: “It’s frustrating that due to the stubbornness of STV management, on the biggest news day in Scotland for years, Scottish viewers, listeners and readers won’t be able to hear what some of the most well-respected journalists, reporters and producers in Scottish broadcasting have to say.
“Our members would much rather be reporting the election results than standing on picket lines, but they have been driven to this action by management’s indifference as to how overworked and underpaid they are.
“CEO Rufus Radcliffe has once again failed to grasp the opportunity to end this dispute, and it is personally embarrassing for him that STV will be broadcasting reruns instead of the biggest news story in Scotland.”
Vote counting in the Scottish Parliament election will commence this morning, after Scotland went to the polls yesterday.
Ballot boxes will be opened at 9am at designated counting centres across the county and the first constituencies are expected to be declared around midday.
If English council results are a guide, it promises to be a long and difficult day for the beleaguered Labour party in particular. Will spectacular Reform advances be mirrored north of the border, or can the SNP deliver an unlikely outright majority?
