Nottingham cabbie fined for breaking quarantine rules and returning to work following trip abroad

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Nottinghamshire Police have fined a cab driver for not self-isolating after returning from a trip abroad.

Police showed they mean business for those flouting the strict COVID-19 quarantining rules by hitting the driver with a £200 fine. As a result, the unnamed driver is also now having his licence reviewed.

Nottinghamshire Police took swift action after being alerted to the city taxi driver who was "blatantly refusing to stick to the quarantine rule of strict self-isolation" following his return home from a trip abroad, a spokesperson for the force said.

Instead he went straight back to his taxi businesses without a thought to the danger he could be putting other people in by doing this. It is understood the man has not tested positive with the coronavirus but the rules mean he should still have been self-isolating.

The police received a report that since returning home from one of the countries the Government has imposed a 14-day quarantine regulation on, the man had failed to self-isolate for the required period.

It is understood he returned on 13 September, meaning he should have been self-isolating until 27 September.

Officers stopped the man in his taxi in the city centre at around 10.15pm yesterday (Thursday 24 September 2020) and issued him with a fixed penalty notice.

Nottingham City Council taxi licensing officials have been made aware and will now review the driver’s licence.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: “The actions of this taxi driver were completely irresponsible. Not only was he leaving the house while he should been self-isolating he was also putting others, including his passengers, at risk by not sticking to the rules.

"It’s everybody’s responsibility to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and our action towards this individual should serve as a stark warning to any others who believe that they can blatantly ignore the regulations without consequence.

“We continue to thank the vast majority of people who are sticking to the rules and we are working with the public, businesses and licensing and local authorities to help people understand what is expected of them and to make sure that they are complaint with the regulations to keep everyone safe in our city and across the county.

“Our priority is to keep people safe and our approach of engaging with people, explaining the regulations to them and encouraging them to follow the guidance will remain.

“We will continue to take a proportionate approach but, as we have shown, we are not afraid to act if people deliberately flout the rules and recklessly put other people’s lives in danger.”