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Matt Hancock said he was “very worried” about the second wave of the virus now emerging in the UK. The Health Secretary said there was a danger the infection rate could “shoot through the roof” if people did not follow the Government’s rules. His comments came as the Government announced people in England could face fines of up to £10,000 if they refuse an order to self-isolate.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Hancock said: “The nation faces a tipping point.

“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.”

He added: “We have seen in the data that some people who need to self-isolate are not doing so.

“If you have been asked to self-isolate then you either definitely have the coronavirus or you are highly likely to have coronavirus, and so it is mission critical that you isolate.

“I am very worried about this second wave.

“We have seen in other countries around Europe how it can absolutely shoot through the roof.”

Fines will initially 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 requires a staff member to come into work in violation of an order.

On Friday, the Prime Minister acknowledged the long-feared second wave of the pandemic affecting countries such as France and Spain had reached Britain and that more cases of the disease were “inevitable”.

Announcing the new rules, Mr Johnson 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.

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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.”

The penalties are in line with those for people who fail to quarantine for 14 days after returning to the UK from a country not on the list of low risk nations.

Officials said NHS Test and Trace would be in regular contact with individuals told to self-isolate and would report any suspicions that people were not complying to the police and local authorities.

Police will also check compliance in COVID-19 hotspots and among groups considered to be “high-risk” as well as following up reports from members of the public of people who have tested positive but are not self-isolating.

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