A man whose fiancée had a heart attack and returned home from hospital is complaining that he is not allowed to isolate with her.

Malcolm MacDonald’s partner, Kelly Whitehead, was sent to hospital in Liverpool after suffering from severe chest pain last Sunday morning.

Mr MacDonald was told that his fiancée was not able to return back to the island as she would need to isolate alone, so he told the hospital that he had moved into his car so she could come back.

Mr MacDonald is now staying in rented accommodation in Ramsey.

He said: ’I don’t know why they won’t let me isolate with Kelly, there is just no logic in it. I’ve had help from friends and work colleagues and a lot of people in the community wishing us both well.

’I feel let down by the Government and stressed about having to go down the route of speaking to the media due to the lack of compassion from the medical professionals. My fiancée just wants me to come home rather than stressing and worrying about being on her own.

’I feel the Government should assess each case individually, as what is right for one might not be necessarily right for another and be more clear to the patients before they leave.’

The Department of Health and Social Care made the following statement regarding returning travellers isolating: ’New rules into effect from January 7 make it clear that returning travellers may only self-isolate with another member of the household if that person travelled with them.

’There is an exemption in law for patient transfers, who can have a modified direction notice to be cared for at home where the whole household isolates, and this is based on a requirement for ongoing care in the home.

’Exemptions are granted based on a clinical assessment of the patient. Assessments are undertaken to reach a decision on whether the person is capable of caring for themselves, and are designed as an objective test on whether the modification applies.

’In this case, both medical teams in the island and the UK overseeing the care of the patient were of the unanimous view that an exemption was not required and the person is fully capable of self-care for the period of isolation.’