People who do not self-isolate could be fined up to £10,000 under a new law brought in to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The Government has now made it illegal to ignore the requirement to self-isolate if you have tested positive for Covid-19, or if you have been told you’re a close contact of someone with the virus.
NHS Test and Trace will be checking up on people who have told to stay at home, and police and local authorities will enforce the law, with fines starting at £1000 and rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders, or for employers who force people to come to work even though they have tested positive.
A one-off payment of £500 will be made to people on low incomes who can’t work from home but have to self-isolate.
The changes come as daily coronavirus infections rise sharply.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has urged the Government to bring in stricter social distancing measures now to avoid a longer lockdown in the future. It said that it is ’vital to restrict avoidable mixing of people at a time when the infection is spreading without the testing capacity to identify those with the infection’.
BMA Chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “There is also a huge need for better communication from the Government to local populations regarding real-time local infection rates - comparable to local weather information - and for this to be culturally competent.
“We also need clarity and consistency of how decisions about national lockdowns or other restrictions are being made. We need to know the criteria for when different restrictions will be introduced, and local public health specialists need to have the autonomy to act in the best interests of their own towns and cities.”