New Measures in place for 21 days – for the full text of the announcement see the link at the bottom of this page

For more information and updates please visit gov.im/covid19

From 8am January 6th the COVID Community Line will be up and running again. The number is 686262 for any non-medical queries.

If you show any symptoms then you need to stay at home and call 111 immediately. But please do not call 111 with general enquires.

The broad parameters are clear. Stay at home if you can. If you can’t then ensure you do everything in your power to be safe. Remember the basics. Wash hands. Keep distance. Please use face coverings as much as possible.

• The overarching – and most important – point is that we will need everyone to stay at home as much as possible.

1. We will require the return to social distancing of two metres everywhere outside the home.

• You will not be able to gather with anyone who is not a member of your household.

• You will be able to go outside for exercise once a day. But we will not limit how long for. But it can only be with people from your household. We would ask you to do your best to avoid any crowded area. And you must wear a face covering.

• Weddings and collective worship will not be able to take place.

• Funerals may continue indoors and outdoors only with a maximum of ten people and with social distancing and the use of face coverings in place.

• We will be asking everyone who can work from home to do by Thursday and ideally, if possible, before. We will require all employers to take this obligation seriously and do everything they can to facilitate. We know that some companies will need to have a skeleton team in place to ensure core services. But this must be kept to an absolute minimum.

• The construction sector will have to stop work – except for emergency work and essential repairs.
• The manufacturing sector can continue to work if – and only if – it can do so with social distancing and other measures in place. There will an orderly closure of schools and nurseries as we re-establish the hub system we had in place before to cater for the children of essential workers and any vulnerable children. We expect this to be in place by Thursday and certainly before the end of the week. Headteachers will be in touch. In the meantime, with immediate effect, school attendance will not be compulsory.

• All hospitality venues will have to close as soon as possible but no later than one minute past midnight Wednesday night to Thursday morning. This includes all licenced premises, all cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs. The only exception to this will be for take away or delivery of food and alcohol only. No eating in.

• All non-essential shops will have to close from the same time. For most, this will undoubtedly mean at the end of business tomorrow. Only food shops and pharmacies are considered essential. We have however agreed that for the moment at least hardware and garden centres can also remain open.

• On supermarkets and food shopping – please shop responsibly. Although the measures being introduced today haven’t applied for the last six months, remember the United Kingdom has been in varying degrees of this situation for many months. Supply chains are stable.

• When you go shopping, please minimise numbers, it should be one person or one person and a child only if you’re a single parent.

• Please do be considerate and leave supplies for others – there is no need to stock up. Our freight continues to flow and you will recall there were no problems with supply in the spring during our first lockdown.

• All lifestyle businesses – you will remember that this is broadly hair and beauty businesses – will have to close.
• Face coverings will be compulsory on all public transport. We have also recommended to taxi operators that they should not to pick people up unless they are wearing face coverings.

• In addition, we strongly advise face coverings to be used by everyone anywhere outside your home when you will be in close proximity to others.
• All indoor leisure facilities will close. This includes gyms and swimming pools. At this stage, we will not be putting in place an all-Island speed limit as we did last year. But we would ask everyone to drive carefully and bear in mind the pressure any incidents can have on the hospital. We will revisit this if necessary.

• With immediate effect, we are asking those at significant clinical risk – those who shielded before – to do so again for an initial period of one week and then we will review and be in touch.

• We will be ramping up our support for vulnerable people who will need assistance with shopping.

• We have asked all care homes to stop visits with immediate effect. This will be for an initial period of one week while we evaluate the situation further.

• We are moving to Level 5 of our borders framework. We strongly discourage any travel off island. If people do decide to travel after tonight, we cannot guarantee when they will be able to return.

• Those who do return from one minute past midnight Wednesday night to Thursday morning – again just to be clear in just over 30 hours time – will be required to undergo a new testing regime. This will be three tests. One on day 1. Another on day 6 or 7. A third test on day 13. Those returning will have to pay £50 for each test. If people are not prepared to do this, they will have to self-isolate for 21 days.

• Returnees will no longer be able to self-isolate with anyone other than those they have travelled with. There will be no financial support for any returnees.

Full text of Press Statement