Covid: Isle of Man testing and isolation rules shift towards home kits

Lateral Flow Devices are available free of charge to everyone on the Isle of Man

People on the Isle of Man will have to isolate for 10 days if they record a positive Covid-19 lateral flow test result, the chief minister has said.

Alfred Cannan said the move away from PCR tests for community cases marked a "fundamental shift" in the island's testing strategy.

The changes come amid fears of a sharp rise in cases due to the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The new rules come into force at 00:01 GMT on Wednesday.

There are currently 126 known Omicron cases on the island.

'Voluntary self-testing'

Previously, a positive lateral flow test had been followed by a PCR test to confirm the result.

Those who record a positive result on the home testing kits will now have to isolate immediately and log the result on the government's website instead.

The 10-day period could be reduced if a person records two subsequent negative tests, taken at least 24 hours apart.

Under the changes, other members of the household will no longer automatically be required to isolate alongside a positive case, but will be expected to self-test for seven days, and the onus will be on the infected person to alert their close contacts.

PCR tests will remain in place for travel and hospital screening.

Mr Cannan said the move was "designed to harness the testing capability" and "capitalise on the reliability and availability of home testing kits".

The change recognised the "huge amount of public support for voluntary self-testing that has identified the vast majority of Covid cases over recent months," he added.

The overhaul of the island's testing rules comes amid a drive to administer booster jabs to 90% of all eligible adults on the island by mid-January.