Vietnam: Man Flouts Home Quarantine Rule, Gets 5-Year Jail for 'Spreading' Coronavirus
A man in Vietnam was recently sentenced to five years in jail after a court found him guilty of "spreading" coronavirus (COVID-19).
Hanoi, September 7: A man in Vietnam was recently sentenced to five years in jail after a court found him guilty of "spreading" coronavirus (COVID-19). The convict, identified as 28-year-old Le Van Tri, had tested positive for COVID-19 on July 7. According to a report on the website of the provincial People's Court, Tri had violated a 21-day home quarantine regulation and travelled to his home province Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam's Capital Hanoi Extends COVID-19 Restrictions in Several Districts For 15 Days.
According to local media reports, Ca Mau had a lower COVID-19 case rate than Ho Chi Minh City. "Tri's breach of the home medical quarantine regulation led to many people becoming infected with COVID-19 and one person died on 7 August 2021," the court said. Consequently, Tri was convicted of "spreading dangerous infectious diseases to other people". As per reports, Tri had transmitted the deadly virus to eight people.
Vietnam is witnessing a spurt in COVID-19 cases after successfully containing the outbreak during the first wave of the pandemic. Nearly 54 lakh people in the country have been diagnosed with the infection. Of them, more than 13,000 have died so far. A vast majority of deaths happened in the past few months. In view of the worsening situation, COVID-19 restrictions have been extended for a further two weeks in Vietnam's capital Hanoi.
In order to prevent further spread of the coronavirus, local authorities have launched a plan to conduct tests on the city's 8 million people, according to news agency Reuters. The Southeast Asian country is also punishing those found violating COVID-19 restrictions.
In July, a 32-year old man in Hai Duong was sentenced to 18 months in prison for spreading coronavirus. In March, a flight attendant of Vietnam Airlines was awarded a two-year suspended jail term for the same charge.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2021 02:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).