Anyone in England who tests positive for coronavirus will be required to isolate by law from September 28, the Government has announced.
The new rules come as coronavirus continues to spike in the UK, with thousands of new infections each day and the country reaching "a critical point," according to top advisers.
The restrictions come with a hefty fine attached to stop people breaking them, in a bid to stop a brutal second wave of Covid-19.
Here's how the fines for breaking coronavirus rules work.
How much are the fines for breaking coronavirus rules?
Government advisers found that as few as 20 per cent of people who tested positive for coronavirus or were contacted by NHS track and trace were self-isolating for the full two-week period.
To prevent this, higher fines are to be imposed in England from September 28, with an initial £1,000 penalty levied for breaking the 14-day self-isolation period.
Fines will rise to a maximum of £10,000 for subsequent offences.
A previous penalty of £100 for breaking lockdown rules was set in May.
Ministers said that NHS track and trace workers will be in regular contact with people they have told to self-isolate to make sure they are following the rules.
Anyone found to be flouting the restrictions will be reported to the police.
What if I cannot afford to self-isolate?
People who prevent others from self-isolating when they should be staying at home, such as an employer, could also be hit with a fine, the Government said.
If you have to self-isolate and cannot work from home, the Government is offering a one-off payment of £500 to cover the 14-day period.
The payments will only come in from October 12, but anyone who has to self-isolate before then will be able to claim backdated pay.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Brits to keep "following the rules and self-isolating if they're at risk of passing on coronavirus".
He added: "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."
But Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said that the opposition party had been calling for the new payments for some time.
"We welcome this belated introduction of extra support, but it shouldn't have taken months for the penny to finally drop that people on low incomes needed more help," she added.
"And with only a fraction of workers eligible for this payment, government must work urgently to fill any gaps."
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