Prison visits suspended following Covid-19 case

Visits to the IOM Prison have been temporarily suspended after a self-isolating prisoner tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.

Government says the individual has been kept in quarantine since their arrest with officials adding the contact tracing team has confirmed the risk to the wider community is 'extremely low'.

All new entrants to the prison are housed in a separate wing for 14 days before joining the wider prison population.

Minister for Home Affairs, Graham Cregeen MHK, says: "We have planned and are fully prepared for cases of COVID-19 at the Isle of Man Prison and have robust and rigorous protocols in place to protect prisoners, staff and visitors.

"Suspending visiting to the prison is just a precaution to reduce the already minimal risk that the virus could spread.

"Prison officers assigned to newly arrived inmates in self-isolation are required to wear full PPE, maintain a safe distance, and practice scrupulous hand-washing.  Free tests for COVID-19 are available to frontline workers, including prison officers."

Contact tracing is already underway to identify anyone who may have come into contact with the individual.

It means the total number of cases on Island currently stands at three, all of which are in self-isolation.