Covid: Isle of Man businesses 'should prepare to reopen on Monday'

The island went into its third lockdown on 3 March

Businesses on the Isle of Man should "begin preparations for reopening from Monday", the chief minister has said.

There has been no evidence of Covid-19 community spread on the island since 30 March, and the number of cases has now fallen from a peak of 881 to just 21.

Howard Quayle said if the trend continued, all legal restrictions would be lifted on Monday.

Non-essential firms were forced to close on 3 March when the island entered its third lockdown.

Mr Quayle said: "Unless there are events that give us significant cause for concern before then, our intention remains that we will lift all legal restrictions from 19 April."

However, he warned people that everyone would "need to be more vigilant" once lockdown has been lifted.

"As we step out of people's lives, we will need everyone to continue to make the right decisions for themselves and our wider community," he added.

There have been no coronavirus cases without a known source of transmission on the island for more than two weeks now.

A total of 1,575 people on the island have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic, 29 of whom have died.