COVID-19 costs island's economy £246M

The true cost of the COVID-19 pandemic to the island's economy will be revealed in Tynwald later this month.

The Light Blue Book shows the impact to be in the region of  £246m, split between £111m reduced Government revenue, £109m in direct support costs and £26m in other costs (for example the purchase of PPE).

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said: ‘The cost to the public purse of dealing with the pandemic will not be a surprise but it is well within the worst case estimates that I presented to Tynwald in July 2020".

To meet the costs, £57m was transferred from the Contingency Fund, £78m came from the National Insurance Fund and £111m was funded by reduced costs.

Mr Cannan added that despite all this, Manx reserves remain strong, standing at £1.84bn at the end of March.