Implications of Covid-19 for Shackleton Scholarship Fund Applicants

The Falkland Islands have been fortunate to maintain a relatively ‘covid-free’ existence, which has largely been due to strict regulation of travel into and out of the Islands. The current situation is:

• Air-travel has been suspended between South America and the Falkland Islands until at least 30 June 2020.
• Civilian air-travel on the Military of Defence (MOD) ‘airbridge’ flight which operates out of RAF Brize Norton is restricted to essential personnel only (e.g. Falkland Islands residents, family members, employees undertaking essential services on the Islands etc.)
• People travelling south on the airbridge must show evidence of a negative Covid-19 test at least 5-days prior to travel (this is a mandatory requirement of the Government of Senegal – the airbridge makes a stop-over in Dakar enroute to the Falklands).
• There is a 14-day mandatory quarantine period for all people entering the Islands.

So what does this mean for SSF applicants and successful Scholars?

Decisions on travel restrictions are under constant review by the Falklands Islands Government (FIG). At this point in time, it is too early to say when they will be lifted, but the SSF Committee, like most of the Falklands community, is hopeful there will be some easing as world-wide control measures (e.g. vaccines) are rolled out over the coming months.

With that in mind, the SFF Committee is taking an optimistic approach and would encourage people to apply for the 2021 round of SSF grants if they have good ideas for projects. However, we would also encourage applicants to consider contingencies if travel to the Islands is not possible – e.g. will you be able to conduct your project at a later date? Would there be elements that you can conduct remotely?

Unfortunately, costs of the mandatory 14-day quarantine, or any Covid-19 tests, would need to be covered by the applicant from personal or other funds – they can not be covered by the SSF grants.

We would also encourage you to keep up-to-date with the latest Covid-19 news issued by FIG: https://www.fig.gov.fk/covid-19/. For information about Covid-19 related travel and research restrictions in South Georgia, please contact the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands on admin@gov.gs.

Applications can be downloaded from the ‘Applications’ page of the SSF Website: http://www.shackletonfund.com/. Applications are due by 31 March 2021.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the SSF on info@shackletonfund.com

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