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People who refuse to self-isolate when required will face fines of up to £ 10,000 under a ‘carrot and stick’ emergency plan to control the second wave of Covid-19 hitting the country.
With infections rising at rates last seen before the full shutdown in March, about four million low-income, benefit-recipients who are unable to work from home will also receive special payments to “stay in.” house “from £ 500 to make up for losses. earnings during their two week isolation periods.
Many regional leaders, including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and public health officials, have been arguing for months that such support was necessary because people struggling to survive on low incomes believed they couldn’t afford to isolate themselves. themselves, and they weren’t. doing it. This has caused the virus to become “endemic” in some deprived areas of northern England.
Beginning September 28, under the emergency package announced last night by the Prime Minister, the law will require people to self-isolate if they test positive or if they are contacted by the test and trace system for having been in contact with an infected person. Fines will start at £ 1,000, increasing to £ 10,000 for “heinous” offenses and serial offenders.
More police resources will also be used to find criminals in high incidence areas. Officers will be told to act on suggestions from neighbors.
“People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines,” said Boris Johnson.
“We need to do everything we can to control the spread of this virus, prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, protect the NHS and save lives.
“And while most people are doing their best to comply with the rules, I don’t want to see a situation where people don’t feel like they can be financially isolated.”
The new measures were announced as evidence mounted that the second wave of Covid-19 was spreading rapidly from the north of England, with infections rising at worryingly high rates in London.
While a few days ago, officials told London Mayor Sadiq Khan that the capital was two weeks behind infection hotspots in the North East and North West, their latest model suggests it may only be two or more behind. plus. three days.
Khan is pushing ministers to introduce restrictions in London that have recently been enforced in large areas of the North West and North East, including the closure of pubs and restaurants at 10 p.m., and rules under which people are prohibited from mingling with other people. outside their homes in homes or gardens.
The mayor is also exploring the possibility of asking everyone who can work from home to do so, directly contradicting the “get back to work if you can” approach pushed by Johnson earlier this month.
There were another 4,422 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK on Saturday, the first time the daily total has surpassed 4,000 for two consecutive days since the beginning of May.
Johnson has said he is desperate to avoid a prolonged new national lockdown. But this weekend, he and his ministers are considering new measures, including a two-week “circuit breaker” in which new and stricter rules will be applied to try to control the reactivation of the virus.
Scientists urged ministers not to repeat the mistakes of the first confinement and, in particular, to take measures to protect people in residences.
Epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse from the University of Edinburgh said: “The closure did not protect the people most in need of protection, such as those living in residences.
“So if we are going to act, we should do it sooner rather than later; don’t let it interfere with the normal functioning of the NHS and lastly prioritize the protection of the vulnerable, otherwise we will repeat the mistakes of the first confinement ”.
Graham Medley, head of government pandemic modeling and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: “The prevalence of infection is increasing across the UK.
“Epidemiologically, the situation is similar to that of late February or early March. Decision makers will need to act fairly quickly.
“Hospital admissions are increasing and will continue to increase for about two weeks after transmission slows.”
He also warned that a large drop in the number of test results returned within 24 hours was a big problem that could help the disease spread: “Delayed delivery of results is a critical issue and more important than a limit on the number of tests.
“Especially for contact tracing, significant delays in testing mean that contacts from positive cases are either not traced or traced too late to prevent presymptomatic or asymptomatic transmissions.”
Today, as Labor opens its virtual party conference, Keir Starmer calls on the government to put “kids at the front of the line” for coronavirus testing and to give parents an iron guarantee that they can get tested. your children in 24 hours. and the result 24 hours later.
Speaking before the conference, he said: “If the prime minister fails to control the testing crisis, children will be deprived of an education. We are seeing a growing avalanche of school closings.
“The testing regimen is not working, nor is he appreciating the unique challenges that many families face.”
Khan will tell the conference that “the Labor Party is now the party of the competition” and that the local and mayoral elections next May will be the first opportunity for the British people to send a message to the government and hold it accountable for your mistakes.
