The government will impose fines of 1,000 pounds, about $1,300, against those who do not self-isolate after testing positive for the virus or who leave their home after being traced as a close contact of someone who has. The fines, which begin on Sept. 28, can increase to a maximum of £10,000 for repeat offenders or for the most serious breaches.
Weve relied on peoples civic duty to do the right thing, but there is a minority of people who are not, Matt Hancock, the British health secretary, told the BBC on Sunday.
The government will also introduce a £500 payment for people on low incomes who are told to self-isolate, an incentive intended to cushion the blow of any financial loss and to encourage compliance.
Where hot spots for virus spread have been identified, the governments strategy has recently favored local restrictions, but Mr. Hancock said on Sunday that he could not rule out another national lockdown.
Roughly 10 million people in central and northern England have already been banned from meeting with anyone outside their household as part of local restrictions, and many pubs and restaurants in those areas have been told they must close at 10 p.m.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is pushing for similar restrictions to be implemented in the British capital.
Elsewhere in the world:
- Residents of Madrid took to the streets on Sunday to protest the return to lockdown of dozens of areas of the Spanish capital, mostly in working class suburbs that are most densely populated. As of Monday, about 850,000 residents in 37 areas will be allowed to leave their zones only for work, school or emergency medical help.
- Italy is allowing as many as 1,000 spectators to attend top-tier soccer matches nationwide starting on Sunday. Officials reported more than 1,600 new infections on Saturday, compared with daily increases of more than 6,000 during the peak of Italys outbreak in March, when public attendance was suspended at matches for Serie A, the countrys top soccer league.
- Indonesia has announced a seven-day suspension of a seafood companys exports to China after the outside of packaged fish products tested positive for the virus. The Indonesian Fisheries Ministry said on Saturday that an investigation had been opened into the company, PT Putri Indah, according to a Reuters report. Other companies were not affected, the ministry added, and can still do export activities as usual.
- Australias second-largest city, Melbourne, moved closer to easing lockdown rules after recording only 14 new cases on Sunday.
- New Zealand on Sunday reported four new cases. In a case reported the day before, a man who traveled to New Zealand from India last month developed symptoms after his two-week quarantine and infected two household members, officials said. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to announce on Monday whether restrictions will be further eased in Auckland and lifted entirely in the rest of the country.
