Self- isolation fines

Need for better testing system

VAST SWATHES of West Yorkshire tomorrow come under new restrictions intended to curb the spread of Covid- 19, and it appears increasingly likely that the rest of the country will soon follow suit.

This is a measure of how seriously the alarming rise in new infections is quite rightly being taken by the Government.

So too was yesterday’s announcement that fines for those flouting the requirement to self- isolate could be as high as

£ 10,000.

The long- feared second wave of the pandemic is, according to the Government’s scientific advisers, now approaching, and there is likely to be popular support for any action that avoids a repeat of the crisis in spring, with distressingly high numbers of deaths and intense pressure on the NHS.

Yet there are searching questions to be asked of the Government’s strategy. It is not clear how those required to self- isolate are to be monitored in order for punitive levels of fines to be an effective deterrent.

And inadequacies in the Government’s test- andtrace regime remain at the heart of Britain’s difficulties in controlling the pandemic.

The system is, by the Prime Minister’s own admission, nothing like comprehensive enough. What amounts to rationing of tests has been introduced already.

This must be addressed if the Government’s stated aim of suppressing localised outbreaks is to succeed, and if the public is to have confidence that the restrictions being imposed on communities will prove effective.

Getting tough with those who recklessly expose others to the virus is not enough in itself.