People in England who refuse to self-isolate to stop the spread of coronavirus could face fines of up to $13,000 under tough new regulations announced on Saturday to tackle a surge in cases, according to AFP.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this week that Britain was seeing a second wave of Covid-19, and introduced new restrictions for millions of people across northwest, northern and central England.

In a further measure announced late Saturday, he said that from September 28, people will be legally obliged to self-isolate if they test positive or are told to by the National Health Service (NHS) tracing programme.

“The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they're at risk of passing on coronavirus,” Johnson said in a statement.

“And so nobody underestimates just how important this is, new regulations will mean you are legally obliged to do so if you have the virus or have been asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.”