Coronavirus: Hundreds ignoring quarantine orders, Greater Manchester Police says

Two people have been fined for ‘repeatedly’ breaking the rules, officers say

More than 260 cases of people failing to respond to orders to quarantine after re-entering the UK have been recorded in Greater Manchester alone, police have said.

Officers said they had been forced to visit 263 residents who ignored communications from Border Force telling them they were required to self-isolate for 14 days, since 22 July.

Two were fined for “repeated” breaches of quarantine, according to police.

Quarantine rules came into force in mid-June, with some exceptions later added for countries with low incidence of Covid-19.

But restrictions for travellers from some countries, like France and Spain, have since been reimposed. People coming home from holidays in Portugal and Greece are the latest to face the possibility of a two-week quarantine.

Superintendent Andrew Sidebotham, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), said in a statement on Thursday: “It’s really important for people to self-isolate for the full 14 days when coming back to the UK as it can take this length of time for symptoms of Covid-19 to develop.

“During this time you could unknowingly pass the virus on to others, even if you don’t have symptoms.

“When contacted by Border Force, please respond as once a case is referred to police, it takes up a number of resources in order to visit the address and make contact with the individual.

“As well as this, officers are putting their health at risk by visiting someone who could potentially be carrying the virus. A risk that is preventable if everyone self-isolates as required.”

GMP said it was using a policy of ”engaging, explaining, encouraging and, lastly, enforcing”.

This week a man in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was fined £1,000 for breaking the rules when he returned from holiday in Spain.

It is believed he went out socialising in Enniskillen at the weekend, reported The Belfast Telegraph. He later tested positive for coronavirus and was fined on Tuesday.