Visiting suspended at Isle of Man Prison

Mon, 05 Oct 2020

Visiting at the Isle of Man Prison has been temporarily suspended, following a self-isolating prisoner testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

All new entrants to the prison are housed in a separate wing for 14 days before joining the wider prison population. The individual has been kept in self-isolation since their arrest.  The Government’s contact tracing team has confirmed that the risk to the wider community from this case is extremely low.

Minister for Home Affairs, Graham Cregeen MHK, said: “We have planned and are fully prepared for cases of COVID-19 at the Isle of Man Prison and have robust and rigorous protocols in place to protect prisoners, staff and visitors.  Suspending visiting to the prison is just a precaution to reduce the already minimal risk that the virus could spread.

“Prison officers assigned to newly arrived inmates in self-isolation are required to wear full PPE, maintain a safe distance, and practice scrupulous hand-washing.  Free tests for COVID-19 are available to frontline workers, including prison officers.”

Contact tracing has already begun to identify people who the affected individual may have come into contact with.

---