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The police are poised to carry out on-the-spot checks on self-isolating people, as stiff new fines come into force for those who break the rules.
Starting today, people across England will be legally obliged to isolate themselves if they test positive for coronavirus or they are contacted by the test and trace service.
If they don’t, they risk being hit with new fines starting at £ 1,000 and increasing up to £ 10,000 for repeat offenders or serious infractions.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) also said that those who test positive for COVID-19 They will be fined if they knowingly provide false information about close contacts to the test and trace service.
DHSC said police will verify compliance in high-incidence areas and high-risk groups based on “local intelligence.”
High-profile and “egregious” cases of non-compliance will be investigated and prosecuted, while action will be taken based on “third-party” notices about individuals who tested positive but did not self-isolate, the DHSC added. .
But low-income people who are unable to work from home and have lost income as a result will also be eligible for a £ 500 retest and follow-up support payment, he added.
Meanwhile, three more council areas in South Wales will go into local lockdown starting at 6pm, the Welsh government announced.
Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan will be covered by the restrictions, which means that people will not be able to enter or leave the areas without a reasonable excuse.
They won’t be able to meet inside with anyone they don’t live with, with the extended homes suspended.
Restrictions already exist in Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taff.
It comes after bans on domestic mixing went into effect in Wigan, Stockport, Blackpool and Leeds on Saturday, while stricter rules are already in place in large swaths of North West England, West Yorkshire, the North East and the Midlands. as well as in parts of western Scotland.
New restrictions in three areas of Wales mean that an estimated 17.8 million people across the UK will live under additional coronavirus measures on Monday night, in addition to those announced by Boris Johnson.
However, the prime minister faces a defeat from the Commons on Wednesday, as conservative rebels continue to pressure the government to give MPs a chance to vote on coronavirus measures before they take effect.
Steve Baker, a former Brexit minister, who is among a group of around 40 Conservative MPs trying to change the legislation, urged Johnson to share “the burden of deciding on these measures” with MPs.
Baker explained that the effort “is about parliamentarians voting on government policy before it takes effect and takes away people’s civil liberties.”
He told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday show: “We are in an environment where you can’t really tell if he is a criminal or not with so much law coming into force and changing so fast.
“And that is why I have said that this is not a suitable environment for a free people.”
The government said that, at 9 a.m. on Sunday, there had been a plus 5,693 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom. Another 17 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 as of Sunday.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government “will not hesitate” to introduce more measures if the number of cases continues to rise.
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The government is also under pressure to ensure that young people are not confined to their residences during the holiday period due to the COVID-19 outbreaks on campuses.
Today, thousands of students isolate themselves in his rooms after an increase in cases in institutions such as Glasgow, Manchester Metropolitan and Edinburgh Napier.
Students in Scotland have been told that they can return home from long-term university accommodation, provided they follow the rules of self-isolation.
