Don’t bin your tissues straight away!

Tuesday 24 March 2020

Islanders in self-isolation or with flu-like symptoms are being asked to keep their used tissues in a separate bag for 72 hours before disposing of them into their usual bin to prevent covid-19 from spreading in the island.

The advice comes from the Parish of St. Helier, which has seen a “significant increase” of household waste due to the rising number of parishioners working from home and the high number of packages being delivered.

They have asked residents in self-isolation to ensure personal waste such as used tissues and disposable cleaning cloths are stored securely within disposable rubbish bags. 

These bags should be placed into a second bag, tied securely, and kept separate from other waste in the area in which people are self-isolating.  These should then be kept aside for at least 72 hours before being put into the usual bin.

Other waste should be placed in appropriate bins for collection on normal days. Care should be taken to not include food waste, tissues and other with the recyclable waste. 

The advice is part of a series of measures the Parish has introduced to protect islanders from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cleaning efforts are being ramped up in the Parish, with public benches across town being cleaned down daily with disinfectant, while toilets are also being frequently cleaned during the day, including all touch points.

All playgrounds in the Parish - Parade Gardens, People's Park, First Tower, Clos Vaze and South Hill - were closed on Monday, while the parks themselves remain open to the public.

Islanders are however reminded to social distance themselves from other users.

“Playgrounds occupy a relatively small space and provide a huge number of touch points, so playing away from playgrounds is much safer,” the Parish explained.

“It must be remembered that coronavirus can remain present on some surfaces for up to 72 hours."

The government advised that children could play together, but should maintain social distance.

While the Customer Services Department at the Town Hall remains open, entry is being restricted in line with social distancing requirements.   

The Parish is urging residents to use their online services, or to contact the team directly by email or telephone, 811811, wherever possible.  

This applies to the registrations of births, which can be done by email or over the phone at 811088, between 09:00 and 16:30, Monday to Friday. 

The Constable, Simon Crowcroft, said: “I’d like to thank Parish staff, parishioners, and businesses for their support as our services adapt to our changing environment.” 

Meanwhile, Customer and Local Services at La Motte Street has been closed to the public and will from now on only be offering telephone, email and online services.

Alternative contacts for each service can be found below:

• Corona virus sickness benefit from self-isolation – telephone 444444 or email health.zone@gov.je 
• Business Licensing - telephone 444444 or email businesslicensing@gov.je
• Contributions - telephone 444444 or email customerservice@gov.je
• Customs - telephone 448000 or email rgc@gov.je
• Long Term Care – telephone 444444 or email customerservice@gov.je
• Planning and Building control – telephone 445508 or email planning@gov.je 
• Passports – www.gov.je/passports telephone 448000 or email passports@gov.je 
• Payment of any invoice, tax, contributions – www.gov.je/pay or 0800 023 7087
• Pensions – telephone 444444 or email  customerservice@gov.je 
• Public Employee Pensions – telephone 440227 or email pept@gov.je 
• Registration Cards – www.gov.je/registrationcards telephone 444444 or email customerservice@gov.je
• Settled Status – telephone 447900 or email settledstatus@gov.je 
• Tax – telephone 440300 or email jerseytax@gov.je