A woman from the North West has been fined £1,000 for going to the pub, 25 minutes after being told to self isolate.
The offender, from the town of Barrow, Cumbria, was told to stay at home by a local Test and Trace official as she would have been in close contact with someone who has coronavirus.
But instead she ignored the rules, jumped into a taxi and visited a pub, which an investigation by the contact tracing system was able to confirm.
Superintendent Carl Patrick, of Cumbria police, said: ‘This was a blatant breach and put all those this woman came into contact with at unnecessary risk.
‘The Covid-19 virus continues to spread rapidly across our county. It is up to everybody to show personal responsibility and to be careful to follow the guidance and rules in place to keep everyone safe.
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‘The vast majority of people in Cumbria have stuck to the rules and made many personal sacrifices over the past few months to keep themselves, their families and our communities safe.
‘We must all continue to stick to the guidance and regulations and all do our bit to protect ourselves, our families and our communities.’
Barrow Borough Council leader Councillor Ann Thomson said: ‘It saddens me deeply that someone would disregard an instruction to self-isolate from a member of our Track and Trace team.
‘This selfish action could knowingly place other people at risk.
‘Cases of coronavirus are spreading rapidly across our area. Please take this situation extremely seriously and stay at home if you are told to self-isolate.
‘Ignoring this instruction will not only land you with a fine, it could put those you come into contact with and others in grave danger.’
Barrow-in-Furness currently has a coronavirus infection rate of 225.2 per 100,000 people, making it a high risk area under a new ‘heat map’ of England and Wales.
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