The Chief Minister of the Isle of Man has warned how quickly Covid-19 can spread after an infected person left quarantine and resulted in cases all over the island.
Howard Quayle was speaking to RTÉ's News At One programme as the Isle of Man exited a 25-day 'circuit break’ lockdown, which succeeded in stopping the community spread of Covid-19.
Public services – including healthcare and schools – and all pubs, shops, restaurants, theatres and cinemas are again open for business.
The Manx government introduced a tough ‘circuit break’ lockdown on 7 January after an outbreak that peaked at 50 people. The island has a population of 85,000. Today there are 14 cases of Covid-19 in isolated quarantine.
"Sadly a person came out of quarantine and went all over the island, as a result, it was scattered around the island and not just in one confined area"
"We are down to about 14 cases of Covid but they are all in quarantine on the Isle of Man. Quite a few of them are as a result of people travelling to the UK. They’ve come back but they’ve gone straight in to quarantine. We don’t count that as being in the community. It is purely in controlled isolation," the Chief Minister said.
"When we went in to lockdown at the beginning of January we had half a dozen cases. They were all related to someone travelling. Sadly a person came out of quarantine and went all over the island. As a result, it was scattered around the island and not just in one confined area," he said.
"We felt the need to go in pretty hard and fast. We peaked at about 50 cases as a result of this outbreak but we had it under control pretty quick," he added.
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 which aim to prevent anyone carrying the virus from spreading it within the community.
After the Isle of Man’s first lockdown the island enjoyed seven months of "relative normality".
Greeting the end of its second lockdown the Chief Minister added in a statement: "The Isle of Man has achieved local elimination of the virus for a second time, meaning the risk of community spread of Covid-19 is extremely low. We beat the virus once and we have done so again.
The Chief Minister said returning to normality had "only been possible due to the seriousness with which the public have approached the measures set out by government to bring the virus under control and eliminate its spread."
"This achievement is thanks to the collective determination, the sense of duty, and the community spirit of the Manx people, for which they are to be commended," he said.
However, he warned while there is a moment for relief and celebration that the Manx people cannot let down their guard.
"We are seeing other jurisdictions that have achieved local elimination battling with outbreaks. We must remain vigilant," he said.
The end of the lockdown means life on the Island can return to near normal and there is no requirement for social distancing and wearing face coverings in public.
"People are pretty grateful to be back with their children going to school, being able to go out for a pint, get their hair done, being able to see their friends and family and give them a hug. People are really pleased to be back in that situation," he said
"We were able to have a quick circuit break where we had problems at the beginning of January and we have now gone 21 days without any cases of Covid in the community – so it’s back to normal," he said.
Martin Brunnschweiler, Director of Bushy's Brewery, which supplies 35 Manx pubs greeted the reopening.
"We had a short sharp shock with the three-week circuit breaker but we are all grateful and relieved that it seems to have done the trick.
"The pubs are open again and it’s a huge relief for brewers like us," Mr Brunnschweiler, told News at One.
