Up to 4million low-wage workers in England will be handed £500 for going into isolation as part of a new 'carrot and stick' approach by the government.
The payment will be launched from next month at the same time as people face £10,000 fines if they flout two-week coronavirus quarantine.
The idea is it will make things easier for people who can't afford to self-isolate for up to 14 days. With new cases of the infection doubling every week, Boris Johnson said the measures are needed to control the virus and to protect the most vulnerable.
But the Test and Trace Support Payment is still less than the £700 a 25-year-old would earn in two weeks on the minimum wage.