Change to COVID-19 testing for international arrivals

Mon, 10 Jan 2022

From 00:01 on Tuesday 11 January 2022 any arriving international travellers, who are fully vaccinated and eligible for entry to the Isle of Man, will no longer have to have a PCR test after arrival.

 

Instead, international travellers will be required to take a lateral flow test within 12 hours of arrival and avoid public indoor spaces until the test is taken and the result submitted online.

 

This change reflects the simplified rules for international arrivals into England, announced this week by the UK Government, which will end the requirement for pre-departure tests and self-isolation for fully vaccinated travellers.

 

International arrivals to the Island must complete a landing form and sign a declaration that they will take a lateral flow test within 12 hours of arrival, and avoid public indoor settings until a negative result is received and submitted online.

 

This will mean that the entry requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers and travellers within the Common Travel Area (CTA) will be the same, making border arrangements simpler whilst continuing to screen arrivals for COVID-19.

 

Full details of the Island’s travel pathways can be found here, including information on arrival requirements and eligibility.

 

All travellers are encouraged to test themselves daily for COVID-19 for the seven days after arrival using free lateral flow tests. Lateral flow tests can be ordered online, or collected from most pharmacies.

 

Any travellers who return a positive LFT after arrival are required to submit the results online and must immediately isolate for 10 days. They will receive an email from 111 confirming the result and isolation period. The isolation period can be shortened if two negative LFT results are submitted, at least 24 hours apart. 

 

The pathway for unvaccinated travellers who have been outside the CTA remains unchanged.

 

Anyone who has already booked and paid for a returning traveller PCR test on or after 11 January will be contacted directly.

 

With the majority of tests on the Island now being done by LFT with online self-reporting, the COVID-19 dashboard is also being simplified. This week it will return to a one-page snapshot of the Island’s current COVID-19 situation, showing new daily cases, total active cases and hospital admissions.  

 

All of the analysis contained in the dashboard relating to ages and trends will be retained in the weekly Public Health Surveillance Report.

 

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