Weekly coronavirus testing is being extended to other key workers - including teachers.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle, providing a Covid-19 update to Tynwald, said the island had ’turned a corner’ in its fight against the virus.

Weekly tests are now available to those working with the vulnerable or in direct one-on-one contact with them such as health and social care staff including in care and residential homes, supported living and the voluntary sector.

It is also available to prison and police officers.

The Chief Minister said: ’We have now started to test more and test differently.’

Mr Quayle said this will be reviewed each week and depending on demand, weekly testing may be ’opened up’ to other key workers.

At a Covid press briefing on Wednesday, Health Minister David Ashford was asked if testing should be extended to teachers and nursery staff as they are seen as frontline workers.

He replied: ’As we move towards the schools doing their gradual reopening that is one of the things I am keen to see it extended to. I want to be offering it to those teachers and nursery workers who are on the frontline.’

Mr Ashford said he had been in talks over this with the education department that very morning - and joked he sometimes wondered if Isle of Man Newspapers has his office bugged as we always pick up on questions he’s discussed that day.

Yesterday (Thursday), it was confirmed weekly tests would be made available for teachers.

Schools are due to reopen on June 15 ahead of a phased return of pupils, starting with the transfer of children in the hubs.

Mr Ashford added: ’We don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver in terms of testing. The on-island test centre has a 200 test a day capacity.

In Tynwald, the Chief Minister said the government was ready to begin antibody testing soon.

This will provide confirmation, with a high degree of accuracy, that someone has had the virus.

But Mr Quayle said the ’global scientific jury is still out’ on whether someone who has recovered from Covid-19 is immune forever, for a while or at all - and, crucially, whether they are able to carry and pass the virus to others.

He told Tynwald: ’We have what we need to start soon an initial antibody testing regime.

’We have the commercial contracts in place, we have the equipment we need, we have the staff we need and we have a plan.’

The Council of Ministers will be briefed this week on the approach that will be taken, he told Tynwald.

Mr Quayle said the relaxing of Covid restrictions on gatherings - allowing 10 outside and two inside - was the start of government ’stepping out’ of people’s lives.

’The public has emphatically welcomed this. We want to regulate less and trust more.

’People have been able to be their friends and family again,’ he said.

The Chief Minister said the island was now rebuilding its economy, and the phased return of services, the largest sector in workforce terms, is key.

Martyn Perkins (Garff) asked when the 40mph temporary speed limit would be lifted.

The island-wide limit, brought in under emergency powers on March 27, will be lifted to 60mph on June 15, the Chief Minister confirmed yesterday (Thursday).

It was discussed at a meeting of CoMin this week.

Mr Quayle told Tynwald: ’I think the 40mph limit has suited us admirably when we were in the key areas of unknown. The number of accidents is down 80%.

’I don’t think we are going to legislate by the back door for an all-island speed limit. We brought it in as a short-term measure as we were battling coronavirus.’

He said the issue of an all-island speed limit should be subject to a Tynwald debate in future.

The Chief Minister was also asked about the repatriation of residents. Speaker Juan Watterson suggested there were 450 awaiting repatriation back to the island.

Mr Quayle said he believes the number to be lower than that. He said the number of repatriation sailings will increase from one to two a week from next month and the capacity on the boats will rise from 30 to 50.

CoMin has also agreed in principle that returnees will soon by able to fly back to the island.

He said he expected the additional sailings to bring down ’fairly rapidly’ the number waiting to return.

Mr Quayle said it was ’disappointing’ that a number of people had been offered repatriation only for them to turn it down as they had wanted to stay a bit longer in the UK.