Boris Johnson has warned those who continue to break coronavirus lockdown rules.
Addressing the nation this evening, the Prime Minister promised to put more police on the streets and to bring in the army if necessary.
Mr Johnson said that he will enforce the lockdown measures with tougher penalties if people continue to flout them, while he reiterated the fines of up to £10,000.
The PM said: "As for that minority who may continue to flout the rules, we will enforce those rules with tougher penalties and fines of up to £10,000. We will put more police out on the streets and use the army to backfill if necessary."
He continued: "And of course I am deeply, spiritually reluctant to make any of these impositions, or infringe anyone’s freedom, but unless we take action the risk is that we will have to go for tougher measures later, when the deaths have already mounted and we have a huge caseload of infection such as we had in the spring.
"If we let this virus get out of control now, it would mean that our NHS had no space – once again – to deal with cancer patients and millions of other non-Covid medical needs.
"And if we were forced into a new national lockdown, that would threaten not just jobs and livelihoods but the loving human contact on which we all depend.
"It would mean renewed loneliness and confinement for the elderly and vulnerable, and ultimately it would threaten once again the education of our children. We must do all we can to avoid going down that road again.
"But if people don’t follow the rules we have set out, then we must reserve the right to go further. We must take action now because a stitch in time saves nine; and this way we can keep people in work, we can keep our shops and our schools open, and we can keep our country moving forward while we work together to suppress the virus.
"That is our strategy, and if we can follow this package together, then I know we can succeed because in so many ways we are better prepared than before."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also warned those those who believe contracting a mild illness of coronavirus won't do any harm.
He spelt out the tragedy that can come with the deadly virus, saying: "The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else's death knell."
Today's televised statement comes after the tougher fines were announced on Saturday evening for those who fail to self-isolate.
New fines for those breaching self-isolation rules will start at £1,000 – in line with the penalty for breaking quarantine after international travel - but could increase to up to £10,000 for repeat offences and for the "most egregious breaches," including for those preventing others from self-isolating.
