Coronavirus POLL: Should Brits face £10,000 fine for failing to self-isolate? VOTE HERE | UK | News (Reports)

Express.co.uk readers can vote in our poll on whether people in England should face an eye-watering £10,000 fine for failing to self-isolate. And let us know what you think in more detail by scrolling down and leaving a comment.

Our poll comes as the new fines are being brought in to get a grip on surging coronavirus cases, with 4,422 new infections yesterday.

In a draconian toughening up of the rules, people told to self-isolate if they test positive for the virus or come into contact with someone who has the disease could face a £10,000 penalty.

The new regulations will come into force in England on September 28.

And ministers are in discussions with the devolved administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about extending them UK-wide.

Announcing the new rules, the Prime Minister said: “The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they’re at risk of passing on coronavirus.

“And so nobody underestimates just how important this is, new regulations will mean you are legally obliged to do so if you have the virus or have been asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.

“People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines.

“We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives.”

READ MORE: Coronavirus warning unleashed: £10,000 FINE if you don’t isolate

Speaking this morning, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the nation “faces a tipping point”.

He told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “We have a choice. Either everybody follows the rules – the rule of six and the need to self-isolate if you have a positive test or if you are contacted by NHS Test and Trace – or we will have to take more measures.

“I don’t want to see more measures, more restrictive measures, but if people don’t follow the rules that is how the virus spreads.

“We will support people who do the right thing and we will come down hard on people who do the wrong thing.”

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Fines will start at £1,000 rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders and for “the most egregious breaches” including those who stop other people from self-isolating, such an employer who forces a staff member to come into work.

The penalties are in line with those for people who fail to quarantine for 14 days after returning to the UK from a country where there is not a travel corridor.

NHS Test and Trace will be in regular contact with people told to self-isolate and will report any suspicions to the police and local authorities.

Police will also check compliance in coronavirus hotspots and among groups considered to be “high-risk” as well as following up reports from members of the public of people who are not self-isolating when they should be.

There could even be prosecutions in “high-profile and egregious” cases of non-compliance.

There will be exemptions for those who need to escape from illness or harm during their isolation, and for those who require care.

And people on lower incomes who face a loss of earnings from going into quarantine will be eligible for a one-off support payment of £500.

But alarmed senior Tories are planning to try to block ministers imposing new coronavirus lockdown restrictions without the say of MPs.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, told day Telegraph that he would table an amendment when the Government comes to renew the emergency powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020.

It comes as large parts of England are under local lockdowns.

And Mr Johnson has refused to rule out a second nationwide shutdown amid fears of a second coronavirus wave.