Covid-19: Tynwald agrees to create memorial 'garden of reflection'

The garden is set to be a calming place for people "to mourn, remember and reflect"

A Covid-19 memorial garden which would provide "a place of quiet reflection" is to be created on the Isle of Man.

Jason Moorhouse MHK has called for a "place to remember loved ones" to be established in the next six months.

However no firm timescale for the project has been fixed due to the ongoing pandemic.

A total of 29 people have died as a result of Covid-19 on the island, including 20 residents at Abbotswood Nursing Home.

Mr Moorhouse suggested the garden should be situated in Ballasalla but Chief Minister Howard Quayle said it should be in a more central location.

"We have lost members of the community from across our island," he said.

Tynwald backed the garden and politicians supported an amendment by Mr Quayle to consider different locations.

Politicians unanimously backed the amended motion, which means the next chief minister must report back to Tynwald on the cost of its development and a plan for future maintenance, by January 2022.