Isle of Man CLOSES all its schools two days after an island-wide circuit-break lockdown

Schools across the Isle of Man will be forced to shut down in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus – particularly among the island’s young people.

The move, which will see all schools and childcare facilities close from Friday, comes just days after a circuit break lockdown came into force on the island following a rise in coronavirus cases after a ferry crew member tested positive.

The island had come out of lockdown on February 1, with schools and businesses reopening after no reports of unexplained community cases of coronavirus for 17 consecutive days.

But, on Tuesday, Chief Minister Howard Quayle announced a new lockdown of 21 days as a result of a ‘transmission in our community that we cannot see and that we do not understand’. 

He confirmed that the Isle of Man had seen ‘a strong level of transmission between its young people’ and ‘every opportunity’ needed to be taken to interrupt this.

All schools and childcare facilities on the Isle of Man will be forced to shut down in an effort to halt the spread of coronavirus . (Stock image)

Mr Quayle said: ‘As we know, the Kent variant of COVID-19 is particularly virulent and we are seeing it spreading rapidly amongst our community. 

‘The virus spreads when people mix and so we need to do all we can to minimise that mixing. We are currently seeing a strong level of transmission between our young people and we need to take every opportunity we have to interrupt this.

‘Whilst much of the opportunity for transmission has been…