Millions of Brits to be paid £500 if they need to quarantine – so would you be eligible for the cash?
MILLIONS of families on low incomes in England will be paid up to £500 if they have to quarantine to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The payments will be made available to those on certain benefits who will see incomes drop as a result of having to self-isolate.
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The government is also introducing new laws that will see anyone - not just those on benefits - slapped with a £10,000 fine if they ignore calls to quarantine.
Brits who have been contacted by the NHS Test and Trace team are required to self-isolate for 14 days in a bid to reduce the risk of spreading the deadly Covid-19.
Many low-income employees earning less than £120 a week aren't entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP) when they take time off.
There are fears people are ignoring the instructions because their income will be cut if they do - or they just don't want to.
It is against the law not to quarantine when told to but there isn't much to enforce the rules at the moment.
Tougher regulations are being introduced after the Prime Minister said "there's no question" that the UK is seeing a second wave of coronavirus infections, with new cases doubling every week.
He is expected to address the nation next week, possibly Tuesday.
On the new measures, Boris Johnson said: "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.
"And while most people are doing their absolute level best to comply with the rules, I don’t want to see a situation where people don’t feel they are financially able to self-isolate."
People who stop those required to quarantine can also be fined, such as businesses who threaten redundancy if staff can't come into work because they've been told to self-isolate.
Holidaymakers who refuse to follow the rules when they return from a country not on the UK's air bridge list already face these penalties.
To make sure that Brits are taking the law seriously, NHS Test and Trace teams will regularly call those who've been asked to self-isolate.
They will be able to report and suspicions they are breaking the rules to the police or local authorities.
Police will also have the power to check on those who've been asked to self-isolate in high-risk areas, or if they've been tipped off that someone isn't quarantining when they should.
But the government's NHS Test and Trace system has been slammed "shambolic" by critics and could be outsourced to Amazon.
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Demand for tests has also increased and many have been unable to access swab kits.
Despite the Government reopening schools and urging people to return to the office, the head of Test and Trace yesterday said that no one was expecting “really sizeable increase in demand”.