Located in the island of Graciosa, Azores, the infrasound station IS42 O&M activities are carried out by two station operators, a local operator and IVAR technical staff. The operation is carried out remotely from the IVAR facilities, located on São Miguel Island. Inspection and preventive maintenance are carried out at 15-day intervals by the local operator and bimonthly by a station operator. Annually is performed by both operators, IVAR staff and subcontracted companies. Air travel between São Miguel and Graciosa Islands last two hours, including the scale in Terceira island.
The first COVID-19 active case occurred in the Azores on March 15th. In nine islands with 243 thousand inhabitants and initially only one limited COVID-19 capable health care infrastructure, the Government of the Azores implemented restrictive measures to mitigate the virus propagation, monitoring the related epidemiology. The IVAR also implemented restrictive actions in its Contingency Plan. Those constrains included, among others, closure of public and private services; confinement of visitors and residents; establishment of sanitary fences; suspension of air links, etc.
We present here a timeline of the active cases, the related constraints and O&M actions taken, with the PTS support, to guarantee the Mission Capability of the station.