Not quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 is illegal

Those refusing to self-isolate in England will face a fine anywhere from £1,000 to £10,000 from today, the government has announced.

It is now illegal for anyone, who tests positive or has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, not to quarantine for at least ten days.

Using the NHS Test and Trace app, the public can now be warned if they have been in contact with an infected individual. If a positive case purposefully falsifies their close contacts information, this would also be a breach of the law.

Those in the same household with the positive case that have been contacted by the NHS app, will need to self-isolate for two weeks.

Police forces have been brought in to make sure that the new law is being kept to, especially in areas of England which are virus hotspots and high-risk groups of people.

According to the attorney general, at the end of last month, over 19,000 fines for COVID-19 breaches were issued in England and Wales.

It is hoped that the devolved nations will apply similar fines within their countries.

This comes as a Department of Health study found that only 18% of people with COVID-19 symptoms actually isolated after being asked by Test and Trace.

Frequent reasons for not self-isolating included the need to go grocery shopping or going to the pharmacy or because of the symptoms going away.