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Further six new Covid-19 cases identified on Isle of Man

BBC Self-isolation sign at sea terminalBBC
The island has largely controlled its coronavirus epidemic since the disease emerged

A further six people have tested positive for Covid-19 on the Isle of Man, taking the total number of active cases to 12.

A wine bar, furniture store and office complex have closed after the latest infections were confirmed.

One person is known to have visited Truth Wine & Tapas bar in Ramsey, which has since been deemed a "high risk location" by the government.

Anyone who attended on New Year's Eve or Saturday has been asked to isolate.

Public health director Henrietta Ewart said any household members of people who had been to the bar on those dates must also quarantine.

The government was expected to hold a briefing about the latest developments in the pandemic on Tuesday afternoon.

Two other cases are known to have emerged at a furniture store and an office complex.

Google B&B FurnitureGoogle
B&B Furniture said it had closed as a precaution

B&B Furniture store at Snugborough Trading Estate in Braddan has closed after being informed a customer tested positive over the weekend.

Staff at Nedbank Private Wealth's offices in Hill Street, Douglas, were also sent home after an employee was found to have the virus.

Both firms said they had been contacted by the government's track and trace team.

Nedbank Private Wealth said staff had been "advised to leave the office and work from home for a period of initially 14 days as a precaution".

The office has been closed to the public until further notice, it added.

IOM GOVERNMENT Howard Quayle at a government briefing on coronavirusIOM GOVERNMENT
Howard Quayle urged people to "remain calm and vigilant"

A total of 386 people on the island have tested positive since March, with 25 deaths. Twenty of those were residents at Abbotswood Nursing Home.

The council of ministers is currently meeting to "evaluate the evolving threat" of the pandemic following the new cases and the "deteriorating situation" in the UK, the spokesman added.

The new cases are thought to be separate from an earlier two-case cluster, a government spokesman said.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said the "concerning" development would cause "understandable worry amongst our community".

Ministers were meeting to assess the situation and "what actions may need to be taken to bring this situation quickly under control", he said.

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