A new PHR and a new GC, made on 25th and 26th of January.

The PHR (no.4) Regulation primarily amends border control. As with its predecessors, CoMin has indicated that it needed to come into operation before approved by Tynwald – at least, unlike the latest changes to the Immigration Regulations, they came into effect after being made.

The details of how the Chief Secretary may modify self-isolation rules are changed – such modification is now made more clearly distinct from a direction to self-isolate by being renamed “written self-isolation modification”, and made more widely applicable,  but to balance this the role of the Chief Secretary as acting in accordance with published guidance from CoMin is made much clearer (amended reg,10). The difficult issue of households with a mix of Category A persons and other persons is addressed: certain types of Category A persons may share households if they elect to provide biological samples – this is open to Category A persons who have entered on compassionate grounds, is a Manx resident, or is a Manx resident and a key worker (new reg.12(2A)). The latter seems an odd distinction, but a non-key worker Manx resident must meet the definition of paragraph 6 of the Schedule to the Regulation, while a key worker must simply be “resident”.

Two grounds for entry are reintroduced – compassionate grounds as the basis upon which a person may be permitted to enter the Isle of Man (Schedule, para 8; with a definition provided in the amended reg.5); and contractual obligations (Schedule, para 9).

On a separate point, there is also an additional Direction regarding educational institutions, GC 2021/0019. It extends the operation of the Direction from 28 January to 1 February (in line with other GCs). More substantially, the GC eliminates the category of Hub School, which previously was fundamental to the closure regime, and effectively makes it lawful for all schools to be open, but not to everyone. All schools are closed except to “specified persons” – being vulnerable children, children of on-Island essential workers, pupils residing in an educational institution, and staff as required (para.2). The reference to residential schools, allowing boarding schools to teach all boarders, is new (although some recognition of them was in former rules allowing them to house, but not educate, boarders).