Along with the new border changes announced last week, residents and non-residents can now travel to the Isle of Man under a ‘natural immunity’ pathway.
Anyone who provides proof of a positive PCR COVID-19 test on arriving in the Isle of Man can now be made exempt from testing by proving they’ve been infected within the previous six months.
The new immunity exemption will be in place from 00:01 Thursday 16 September, and applies to residents and non-residents who enter this pathway on arrival.
Evidence of previous infection must be provided through PCR test confirmation, and at least 11 days must have elapsed since the previous positive result.
The exemption is only applicable to confirmed cases that have occurred within the Common Travel Area. The affected individual must also have remained within the Common Travel Area for the 10 days prior to arrival on the Island.
The approach follows guidance issued by the European Centre on Disease Control and mirrors COVID status certification in the UK and other parts of the world. Evidence from a number of studies point towards protection from reinfection for a number of months. And while people can remain positive for 10 days after diagnosis, they are unlikely to carry infectious viral particles after 10 days.
The Travel and Borders section of the COVID website will be updated to reflect the changes when they come in at midnight.
The exemption will not be applicable retrospectively meaning anyone already in isolation or booked for testing will continue to do so.
