An attempt by Speaker Juan Watterson to remove the need for returning residents to go into complete self-isolation has been blocked by MHKs.

Measures on returning residents have been amended to allow people to go to their own home, provided only people who have been off island and are isolating live there.

The new measure has been criticised as, if returning residents do not have an empty home they can go to, they would either have to rent one at short notice or find accommodation in a holiday home or hotel.

Mr Watterson sought to change this to allow residents to return to their home, with the condition that the entire household go into a 14-day period of self-isolation.

He said through a balancing act based on risk, advice, expectation and downright luck, ’the Isle of Man has had an exceptionally low number of active cases’.

And he added: ’We have a rigorous testing and tracing schedule which has released a significant portion of the working population back into the work place.

’However, in the calculations of risk, we should not forget consideration for basic humanity.

’We have all had emails from people who have been incarcerated at the Comis over the last few weeks and the impact it has had on their physical and mental wellbeing.

’I do not believe that enough weight has been given to these concerns in coming up with the package of measures announced yesterday (Monday) and before us now.’

Mr Watterson said that the island was differentiating between residents returning to the island as key workers who are allowed to go home and isolate there, while others have had to go to the Comis Hotel.

He added that there is ’no difference in risk, there is a difference in risk appetite’.

Speaking against the amendment, Health and Social Care Minister David Ashford said that if it passed, returning residents would ’run the risk of infecting those already in the household if they are positive but asymptomatic whether they self-isolate or not’.

He added: ’Should that occur, there is no guarantee how extreme or mild that infection could be for the other individuals in that household. And therefore, it could create additional hospital and ICU pressures.’

Mr Ashford said that the experience of health professionals around the world shows that it is not only those who are elderly or with underlying health conditions that are at risk from Covid-19 as it has been known to kill people who were otherwise healthy before contracting it.

Vote

Mr Watterson’s amendment failed to pass after MHKs voted it down by 13 votes to 10 with Tim Baker (Ayre and Michael), Ann Corlett (Douglas Central), Julie Edge (Onchan) and Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) voting with the Council of Ministers to oppose the motion.

The Legislative Council voted in favour of the amendment six to three.

However, with the branches in disagreement, the Keys as the elected body takes supremacy.