The Isle of Man is to close its borders in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.
The last flight on to the island will land at 6pm today and the final ferry will dock at 6am on Friday.
Chief Minister Howard Quayle said the primary objective of the new measures was the “preservation of life”.
In line with the UK, only essential shops will remain open and anyone disobeying social distancing guidelines will be fined.
Mr Quayle said: “The situation is changing fast. Not just on the island but also across in the United Kingdom.
“We are hearing the intense pressure they are under. The National Health Service is straining. Our island is smaller. Our resources are more limited.
“Despite the excellent preparations across our own health and social care sectors, we need to accept that there is every likelihood that a moment will come where we are under these same pressures.
“We will continue to plan and to act. But we will have deaths in our community. Some of us will lose loved ones. We need to brace ourselves for that.”
The decision to shut the borders was made during an emergency meeting on Wednesday, when Mr Quayle decided “now is the right moment”.
A limited group of people who are necessary for critical national infrastructure will be exempt from the restrictions if they get written permission in advance.
Freight will continue to go in as normal, Mr Quayle said.
All schools on the Isle of Man closed earlier this week to most pupils and the island closed its borders to non-residents on Monday.
Related – TfL workers “dropping like flies” as overcrowding persists
