Coivd-19: Support for Isle of Man workers extended

The total cost of the schemes during the circuit break could be up to £16m

Two Covid-19 support schemes have been extended to aid those who are unable to return to work as soon as the Isle of Man's second lockdown is lifted, the treasury minister has said.

The Manx Earnings Replacement Allowance (MERA) and Salary Support Scheme (SSS) had been due to finish on 31 January.

They will now run until 14 and 28 February respectively.

Alfred Cannan said the extension would prevent a "cliff edge" and give people some time to return to work.

The estimated cost of the circuit breaker support schemes would now be up to £16m, he added.

'Additional cushion'

The island has recorded a seventh consecutive day with no new cases of coronavirus and the latest lockdown, which was imposed on 7 January, is due to be lifted completely on 1 February.

Some construction trades were allowed to return to work on Saturday, under social distancing guidelines, as the island began easing restrictions.

Mr Cannan said extending the schemes would give people the "security" of an "additional cushion" if they could not go back to work straight away.

MERA offers weekly payments of £200 to those who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic or self-employed people unable to work due to restrictions.

Businesses who have had at least a 25% downturn in revenue will be able to apply for the extended SSS, which provides up to £280 per week for each employee to help cover salary costs.

A total of 432 people on the island have tested positive for Covid-19 since March, 25 of whom died, and there are currently 38 active cases.