'Shift in focus' from virus numbers

The Isle of Man government is "shifting its focus" away from the rising cases of coronavirus.

That's from Chief Minister, Howard Quayle who said raw case numbers are no longer providing the most important data.

He added that the key metric now is hospital capacity and the number of people seriously ill.

"This is because of the protection vaccinations give us as individuals and our wider community," added Mr Quayle.

"As the number of cases increase, however, it is inevitable that we will see some people having to go into hospital.

"But each day more and more people in our community become fully vaccinated against the virus.

"And whilst this does not offer complete protection – no vaccine does, and we must remember that – it does enable us to move forward".

The latest figures on the island show zero hospital admissions despite 298 active cases (at the time of writing).

"As the number of cases increase, however, it is inevitable that we will see some people having to go into hospital, continued Mr Quayle.

"But each day more and more people in our community become fully vaccinated against the virus. And whilst this does not offer complete protection – no vaccine does, and we must remember that – it does enable us to move forward".