In England, police will impose heavy fines on citizens who ignore an instruction to stay home to curb the spread of the novel pathogen. This week, the public is being warned on the new legal requirement, as a new law comes into force.
From Monday, fines for disobeying will start at £1,000, increasing “up to £10,000 for repeat offences and the most serious breaches”. The United Kingdom continues fighting against coronavirus with the new legal measure. Public warned that police will ‘enforce the law’, as fines for refusing to self-isolate come into force.
While But promised £500 ‘support payments’ for low-earners delayed until 12 October, ministers added.
In the UK, anyone given a positive test result is required to self-isolate for 10 days after displaying symptoms or, if they do not have symptoms, after the date of the test. Household members must self-isolate for two weeks.
The home secretary, Priti Patel, vowed to act actively after recent research found that just 18 per cent of people who have developed COVID symptoms have been following the rules. “These new measures are about saving lives. Everyone must take personal responsibility,” she said.
However, the lack of compliance – amid surging infection rates – prompted the Cabinet to introduce the legal duty to self-isolate in the UK after a positive test, or if told to by the test-and-trace programme.
The UK police are going to fight COVID with fines of £10,000
For those who fail to self-isolate in case of infection, the police will enforce the law. The new fines are a clear sign that we will not allow those who break the rules to reverse the hard-won progress made by the law-abiding majority.
The police will also monitor compliance “in highest-incidence areas and in high-risk groups based on local intelligence”, the government said.
Reports of breaches made by members of the public would be acted upon and there would be prosecutions in “high-profile and egregious cases”.
Employers who force or allow staff to come to work when they should be self-isolating will also be targeted.
But people can also be instructed to stay home if the test-and-trace programme finds that they have had close contact with someone who has tested positive, regardless of whether they have symptoms. Furthermore, if they develop symptoms and take a test, they must stay home even if that test delivers a negative result.
