Comis Hotel paid £94k to quarantine returnees over lockdown

More than 110 people stayed at repurposed facility

The Comis Hotel was paid £94,000 by the government to quarantine Manx citizens returning to the Island during lockdown.

Those who chose to be repatriated whilst stranded overseas had to complete a two-week stay at the four-star facility, to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.

Since the border closed at the end of March, 112 people, including a child and a baby, were detained at the re-purposed hotel as part of this process.

Returnees had to pay £875 towards their travel, food and accommodation, a sum which was means tested.

Critics say the policy lacked compassion and may have been in breach of human rights, whilst government ministers say it was guided by clinical advice.

A contract was agreed with the Comis on 15 April to provide the accommodation, and as of 8 July it received £94,830.70 from the Department of Infrastructure (DoI).

Department chief executive Nick Black had estimated it cost government an average of £10,000 a week to pay for the quarantine.

The DoI has refused to give the details of fees, such as the amount paid for each person per day, food and accommodation, as well as for coaches and security.

In response to a freedom of information (FOI) request, it claims the benefits of being transparent about government spending are outweighed by concerns over commercial confidentiality.

The pandemic is a live situation, the department says, and the release of information would affect the hotel’s ability to provide the quarantine service again by giving other bidders an advantage.

It’s claimed disclosing the fees would cause the DoI ‘reputational damage with other contractors’, and lead to a ‘lack of confidence’ in its ability to ‘maintain confidentiality’.

The department will not to release the amount paid by returning residents for their time spent at the hotel, as it feels the information could be used to identify individuals.

In a separate FOI response, it’s been shown that no risk assessment took place on the use of the Comis as quarantine facility, which is put down to the ‘unprecedented and evolving emergency situation’.

The hotel’s suitability for children, those with dietary requirements, and mobility issue was assessed though.