Covid-19 in the UK: a fine for positive cases that are not confined

British health services display calling for respect for protective gestures in the face of Covid-19, in a street in Newcastle.

Oli SCARFF / AFP

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3 min

Britons who do not respect self-containment after testing positive for Covid-19 will have to pay a fine of up to 11,000 euros.

This obligation will come into force on September 28th.

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From our correspondent in London

,  

Muriel Delcroix

The government announced new restrictions for the regions of northern and central England, currently the most affected by the epidemic, and warned that the country was entering a second wave of contamination.

Sent this Sunday on television sets to strengthen the government's message, the Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, hammered that the United Kingdom was reaching " 

a critical point

 " and that a second national lockdown was not excluded. unless everyone follows the rules.

People who test positive must self-isolate for 10 days and those living with an infected person or showing symptoms remain confined for 14 days.

In the event of non-compliance with the rules, they will therefore risk a first fine of more than 1,000 euros, up to 11,000 euros in the event of a repeat offense.

One problem: enforcing the measures taken

However, the government has provided aid of more than 500 euros for low wages as well as a fine for employers who punish those who confine themselves.

Wielding carrot and stick, Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his part warned that it was inevitable if the British wanted to spend Christmas with their family.

But as the government mulls over new restrictions, the problem remains how to enforce them: Police and local authorities are already failing to keep everyone under control and the government is pushing the British to report offenders.

But there again, if the ministers clearly call for denunciation, Boris Johnson says he rejects this practice and further scrambles the message.

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