IOM Covid removing restrictions

[Happier diner]

46 minutes ago, Banker said:

I took it that borders restrictions will commence being eased end April, the isolation policy is being considered this week, requirement to isolate away from families is going soon & we will go to a traffic light system like Channel Islands fairly shortly after .

as you say may have missed boat on attracting UK Visitors as Jersey have had a big push 

.https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2021/04/12/surge-in-uk-hits-makes-jersey-holiday-hotspot/

Yes. It sounded to me like for HQ the penny has dropped. Hope so. He has to convince COMIN now though. 

[code99]

Manx Radio: Chief Minister – “We have to accept that once we open the borders, we will see more cases of Covid on the island - some measures may need to be reintroduced but we hope to not have to go back into another lockdown.”

My view is that just one more ‘short/ sharp/ hard’ lockdown will potentially be the final straw for some people/businesses here. Most people have had enough lockdowns and will start making life changing decisions if this happens again. Anecdotal evidence now suggests that many of the off-island investors who recently bought properties here will never actually move here, while many of those who sold will take this opportunity to cash out and physically leave.

The Covid driven surge in the property market may actually lead to population shrinkage, not growth. This could mean a greater shortage of teachers, medical professionals and similar. Should these shortages occur, then everyday lives of IOM residents would become a little bit more frustrating. E.g., hospital waiting lists would get even longer.

IMHO, the IOMG should implement a random Covid testing regime for residents which is free of charge, even after the Island’s entire adult population has been fully vaccinated. All visitors need to be Covid tested on the day of their arrival, again free of charge. We also need a system of  'Covid vaccination passports’ for all residents who have received their two jabs, and a similar Covid vaccination passport system that records the Covid passports status of people who have had their Covid passports issued in other jurisdictions.

These Covid management schemes will be necessary to keep Covid out. We must do these things because we simply don’t know and can’t possibly know how Covid materialise down the track, and we can’t keep the borders closed indefinitely. If we do have an unfortunate spike in Covid cases, it will not just be our local health services that will go into a tail spin, our economy and reputations will go with them.

Edited April 13, 2021 by code99

[2112]

24 minutes ago, code99 said:

Manx Radio: Chief Minister – “We have to accept that once we open the borders, we will see more cases of Covid on the island - some measures may need to be reintroduced but we hope to not have to go back into another lockdown.”

My view is that just one more ‘short/ sharp/ hard’ lockdown will potentially be the final straw for some people/businesses here. Most people have had enough lockdowns and will start making life changing decisions if this happens again. Anecdotal evidence now suggests that many of the off-island investors who recently bought properties here will never actually move here, while many of those who sold will take this opportunity to cash out and physically leave.

The Covid driven surge in the property market may actually lead to population shrinkage, not growth. This could mean a greater shortage of teachers, medical professionals and similar. Should these shortages occur, then everyday lives of IOM residents would become a little bit more frustrating. E.g., hospital waiting lists would get even longer.

IMHO, the IOMG should implement a random Covid testing regime for residents which is free of charge, even after the entire Island’s population has been fully vaccinated. All visitors need to be Covid tested on the day of their arrival, again free of charge. We also need a system of  'Covid vaccination passports’ for all residents who have received their two jabs, and a similar Covid vaccination passport system that records the Covid passports status of people who have had their Covid passports issued in other jurisdictions.

These Covid management schemes will be necessary to keep Covid out. We must do these things because we simply don’t know and can’t possibly know how Covid materialise down the track, and we can’t keep the borders closed indefinitely. If we do have an unfortunate spike in Covid cases, it will not just be our local health services that will go into a tail spin, our economy and reputations will go with them.

Couldn’t agree more. I said ages on here that testing, testing and testing should be done, and free of charge. Sadly the likes of HRH The Chief Minister and his henchmen Ashie and others disagree, as it costs money. They would prefer to choke the island, deprive its citizens and act like a authoritarian dictatorship. Money meanwhile is chucked to the usual various vested interests and high profile businesses, whilst others which normally make a living, and perhaps a profit are barely making a bean. This is down to restaurants, hotels and cafes being shut, January and March. These businesses employ people and are using resources from other off-shoot businesses. Sooner or later something will have to give, unless IOMG will treat certain businesses in trouble as favourably as they treat certain hotel groups.

[Utah 01]

1 hour ago, Gladys said:

Done in 1 minute

Why do in 1 minute what can be strung out, in fine Manx tradition, to last indefinitely? 

Gladys, are you not au fait with the DOI's 'Manual of How to Turn a Pot-Hole Repair into a Multi-Million Pound Gold-Plated Engineering Wonder-of-the-World with No End Date Specified and Limitless Budget Project'.

[Gladys]

7 minutes ago, Utah 01 said:

Why do in 1 minute what can be strung out, in fine Manx tradition, to last indefinitely? 

Gladys, are you not au fait with the DOI's 'Manual of How to Turn a Pot-Hole Repair into a Multi-Million Pound Gold-Plated Engineering Wonder-of-the-World with No End Date Specified and Limitless Budget Project'.

No, is there an abridged cheapie version? 

[Meoir Shee]

2 hours ago, Nomadic Raptor said:

It’s sad that we all knew this would be a briefing of nothing...you have to wonder what was the actual point....  I have to laugh about the schools I got sight of the ballakermeen time table for kids going in on 2 days it is literally

 

performing arts

art

drama

it

sports

Expressive arts

 

you know the important subjects 

I think you’ll find that they are ‘portfolio’ based subjects where kids have to produce a range of evidence.  I can only imagine they have been brought in first to work upon those compulsory portfolios of evidence, the majority of which will be Btec qualifications.  Some of those subjects also appear to require specialist equipment or facilities  that may not be available at home.  In order to comply with social distancing I would imagine the school has had to limit the numbers of kids in and has prioritized accordingly, what would you prefer they did?

[Itsmeee]

3 hours ago, Nom de plume said:

It’s called taking the piss

Chapeau sir/madam/non binary entity (delete as appropriate)

[quilp]

2 hours ago, The Voice of Reason said:

You can’t quote Christopher Hitchens and expect to retain credibility. 
Who are you going to bring out next? David Icke?
 

Dear god, can you really compare the two. Er, on second thoughts, don't answer that... Hitchens once described Icke's outpourings and conspiracy theories in general as, "the exhaust fumes of democracy."

After describing MF as a, "cesspit" it's you who needs to think about your own credibility...

[The Voice of Reason]

22 minutes ago, quilp said:

Dear god, can you really compare the two. Er, on second thoughts, don't answer that... Hitchens once described Icke's outpourings and conspiracy theories in general as, "the exhaust fumes of democracy."

After describing MF as a, "cesspit" it's you who needs to think about your own credibility...

It’s not unusual for two nutters to disagree. If you are awestruck that Hitchens has a good command of the English language and want to be a disciple of his then that is your absolute right.

Its people spouting vitriol just for the sake of it that has reduced MF to what it is now. A shadow of what it was when I joined fourteen years ago. With luck and contributions from the more balanced amongst us it can recover.

You have invited me previously to “piss off” . Not sure what you thought a forum was when you joined but is actually more than just insulting your fellow contributors.

Yes make cogent arguments in support of your position and against those with whom you disagree. Make what you think are witty retorts, that’s all part of it but being abusive is neither clever or necessary 

[The Voice of Reason]

22 minutes ago, quilp said:

Dear god, can you really compare the two. Er, on second thoughts, don't answer that... Hitchens once described Icke's outpourings and conspiracy theories in general as, "the exhaust fumes of democracy."

After describing MF as a, "cesspit" it's you who needs to think about your own credibility...

It’s not unusual for two nutters to disagree. If you are awestruck that Hitchens has a good command of the English language and want to be a disciple of his then that is your absolute right.

Its people spouting vitriol just for the sake of it that has reduced MF to what it is now. A shadow of what it was when I joined fourteen years ago. With luck and contributions from the more balanced amongst us it can recover.

You have invited me previously to “piss off” . Not sure what you thought a forum was when you joined but is actually more than just insulting your fellow contributors.

Yes make cogent arguments in support of your position and against those with whom you disagree. Make what you think are witty retorts, that’s all part of it but being abusive is neither clever or necessary 

[Albert Tatlock]

I thought the real headline in today's briefing was the 400 mathematically inept people who've pulled out of getting vaccinated.

 

[Roger Mexico]

3 hours ago, The Voice of Reason said:

You can’t quote Christopher Hitchens and expect to retain credibility. 

I'm not a fan myself - he was always too much of an Oxford Union contrarian for my tastes - but like it or not Hitchens was seen as a credible person by many.  But he was not the only person to make well-evidenced criticisms of her actions and those of her organisations - there's a whole Wiki page full of them.

[Kopek]

He was OK when he was a leftist!!!

[TerryFuchwit]

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

I thought the real headline in today's briefing was the 400 mathematically inept people who've pulled out of getting vaccinated.

 

This shows what we are dealing with though.

These are the sort that spend too much time on Facebook and Twatter.

[2112]

4 hours ago, Utah 01 said:

Why do in 1 minute what can be strung out, in fine Manx tradition, to last indefinitely? 

Gladys, are you not au fait with the DOI's 'Manual of How to Turn a Pot-Hole Repair into a Multi-Million Pound Gold-Plated Engineering Wonder-of-the-World with No End Date Specified and Limitless Budget Project'.

Have you seen the work undertaken on QB road? What a fiasco can’t finish a job. They are having to close it down overnight for a couple of nights to finish.