Covid: Tynwald backs plan to reopen Isle of Man border

The island's border has been closed to almost all non-residents for more than a year

A plan to reopen the Isle of Man's border to non-residents has been backed by the Manx parliament.

The government's revised exit framework sets a date of 28 June for the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions including mandatory isolation on arrival.

The changes would also see a phased relaxation of the border closure from 1 May to allow family to visit under strict conditions.

The island's border was closed to most non-residents in March 2020.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said aspects of the plan "may need to change" in response to any "unexpected challenges" thrown up by the pandemic.

It marks a change in the government's stance of eliminating the virus from the community to a period of mitigation against its impact based on people behaving responsibly.

Backing the plan, Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said the island now needed to move towards releasing border restrictions "for the health, wealth and sanity of the nation".

People must now "take confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine", he said.

"This of course does not mean that 100% of the population are and will be protected, the virus can still take hold, people will still fall ill, and regrettably some may die," he added.

Tynwald members unanimously supported the document on Wednesday.