Isle of Man hospitality reopens as island exits lockdown

Hospitality businesses on the Isle of Man are able to reopen after the island exited a 25-day circuit-breaker lockdown yesterday, with life on the island returning to "near normal".

As the lockdown succeeded in stopping community spread of Covid-19, there is no longer any requirement for social distancing and the government is no longer recommending that the public wear face coverings.

All businesses required to close or switch to a takeaway service are free to reopen and return to normal service with immediate effect. Schools reopened yesterday and most public services will return to normal operation in the coming days.

Strict controls remain in place at the island's borders, including restrictions on those who can travel to the Isle of Man, as well as isolation and testing regimes to prevent anyone who is carrying the virus from spreading it within the community.

Chief minister Howard Quayle said: "Last time we achieved local elimination, we enjoyed almost seven months of relative normality here in the Isle of Man. With this record, our strengthened testing regime, and the growing pace of our vaccination programme, I hope this lockdown represents a blip to the start of 2021, with brighter days ahead."

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