‘Extremely low’ risk from first Manx case in 100-plus days
THE Isle of Man’s chief minister has said the risk to his island is ‘extremely low’ after its first Covid-19 case in more than 100 days was ‘contained’.
News of the positive test was announced on Sunday, after the case was identified the evening before.
Critically, it was not an infection in the community but imported via a flight on which all the passengers were wearing masks.
Nor were any high-risk contacts identified after contact tracing.
Writing on social media, the island’s chief minister, Howard Quayle, said: ‘The robust processes and procedures we have in place have worked precisely as they were designed to, meaning that this single case is contained and the risk to our community is extremely low.
‘I commend this individual for acting responsibly and wish them well.’
Guernsey’s senior politician, Deputy Gavin St Pier, confirmed at the weekend that the air bridge with the Isle of Man – allowing quarantine-free travel – remained in operation.
The president of Policy & Resources said that maintaining zero cases was ‘never a prerequisite’ of the air bridge.
The Isle of Man’s systems had also worked to identify and contain this case, with no evidence of community transmission.
‘On that basis, there is no reason there should be any impact on the air bridge at this point ... we will, of course, continue to monitor the position,’ he added.
