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Woman Fined £1,000 For Going To Pub 25 Minutes After Being Told To Quarantine

Woman Fined £1,000 For Going To Pub 25 Minutes After Being Told To Quarantine

The woman, from Barrow in Cumbria, ignored a Test and Trace official and headed to the pub.

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

A woman from the northwest of England has been issued a fine of £1,000 for going to the pub just 25 minutes after being told to self-isolate.

The woman, from Barrow in Cumbria, was contacted by a local Test and Trace official, who informed her that she has been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus and needed to self-quarantine.

But the offender ignored the message and hopped in a cab to visit the pub, less than half an hour later.

Through the contact tracing system, officials were able to identify the breach in rules, and the woman was served a penalty fine by Cumbria police.

The offender was told to self-isolate and went to the pub just minutes later (
Unsplash)

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.

"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."

Track & Trace officials were able to confirm the breach and a fine of £1000 was issued by police (
PA)

Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council, 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."

It comes as Barrow-in-Furness is identified as a high risk area in a 'heat map' of England and Wales, with the area suffering a coronavirus infection rate of 225.2 per 100,000.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: News, Coronavirus