Doncaster welder's positive Covid-19 test halted Manx jail visits

Visiting has been banned at Isle of Man Prison as a "precaution", a minister said

The inmate whose positive Covid-19 test caused Isle of Man Prison visiting to be suspended was one of five English key workers jailed for breaking virus rules on arrival on the island.

The welder and his colleagues were jailed for visiting a shop instead of going straight to their hotel.

Prison visiting was halted after the man tested positive on Saturday.

The men have since been released, but the government has not said where the man will complete his isolation period.

Under Manx Covid-19 laws, only residents and those with special permission can enter the island and anyone who tests positive for the virus must self-isolate for 14 days.

The group, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire, had been given exemption certificates to work on the Manx Electric Railway between 29 September and 1 October.

Under quarantine rules, they were permitted to travel between their hotel accommodation and workplace only.

The group were each jailed for two weeks

All five men pleaded guilty to visiting a Tesco supermarket after arriving by ferry on 29 September and were sentenced to 14 days in jail at Douglas Courthouse on Thursday.

Asked about where the man would self-isolate after his release, a government spokesman said it would not comment on individual cases.

A total of 345 people have now tested positive for the virus and, after the government announced one further positive test, there are currently five active cases.

A spokesman said the newest case was a resident who had been in isolation after recently returning to the island and had tested positive after taking a seven-day test.