London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Over 80% defy Covid-19 self-isolation rules, more than half display poor knowledge of symptoms

Over 80% defy Covid-19 self-isolation rules, more than half display poor knowledge of symptoms

Fewer than one in five people in the UK displaying Covid-19 symptoms decide to self-isolate, a fresh study has revealed, and over 50 percent of Britons only have a very vague idea of how the disease manifests itself.
Just over 18 percent of people in the UK who reported symptoms of the novel coronavirus stayed at home for at least a week after the symptoms developed, a new study carried out by the King’s College London together with Public Health England has shown – that’s despite the fact that anyone who might have the disease is officially required to self-isolate for at least 14 days.

The UK government’s Test and Trace program, launched to get a grip on the epidemic, has arguably only made things worse, the data shows, since just over 10 percent of people told to stay home by the NHS Test and Trace service following close contact with an infected person actually did so.

The most common grounds for breaking self-isolation ranged from the need to replenish food and drugs supplies and the need to visit a doctor for an issue unrelated to Covid-19, to a simple belief that the symptoms “got better.” People from low-income groups and those working in key sectors were also revealed to violate the self-isolation rules more often.

“Our results suggest that financial constraints and caring responsibilities impeded adherence to self-isolation, intending to share details of close contacts, and quarantining of contacts,” the pre-print of the study published last week said.

Intention to self-isolate was visibly higher, however, with three quarters of respondents who took part in the study while not displaying any Covid symptoms saying they would stay at home should they fall ill. Some 65 percent also declared they would do so if contacted by the NHS tracing service.

Such a disparity in the survey results might be partly explained by the fact that less than half of Britons actually know what the dreaded disease looks like in practice. Just over 48 percent of respondents questioned between March and August successfully identified cough, fever and loss of sense of smell or taste as Covid-19 symptoms.

The study also showed that just under 12 percent of people in the UK who developed Covid-19 symptoms had requested a test to find out if they actually contracted the disease. The report, based on 21 surveys conducted between March 2 and August 5 and involving responses from a total of 31,787 people over 16, comes as the UK braces for the second wave of coronavirus.

The situation has prompted London to introduce a new set of restrictions, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said may remain in place for up to six months. The government has introduced hefty fines of up to £10,000 ($12,780) for those breaking the self-isolation rules and encouraging or forcing others to do so. It also introduced support payments of £500 ($636) for low-income groups to encourage them to stay at home.

The new regulations are due to come into effect in England on Monday, and the government is holding talks with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to make them UK-wide.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×