A Vietnamese man has been sentenced to five years in jail for spreading Covid-19 after he breached home quarantine rules.
A court found Le Van Tri guilty of transmitting dangerous infectious diseases to eight people, one of whom eventually died. He was convicted of "spreading dangerous infectious diseases to other people" after he traveled to his home province Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City in July, according to a report on the website of the provincial People's Court.
At Ca Mau, Tri was found to have lied on a health declaration form that asked about his recent travel history and also failed to comply with isolation rules. Local authorities at the time had made it mandatory that anyone traveling from other provinces into Ca Mau had to immediately isolate themselves for 21 days.
Tri later tested positive for Covid and was found to have transmitted the virus to members of his family as well as staff at a welfare center that he visited. Tri was sentenced to jail at the end of a one-day trial and was also fined the equivalent of $880 (£630).
After keeping case numbers low last year, Vietnam is now dealing with its most serious Covid-19 outbreak so far, with nearly 540,000 infections and more than 13,000 deaths recorded.
A court found Le Van Tri guilty of transmitting dangerous infectious diseases to eight people, one of whom eventually died. He was convicted of "spreading dangerous infectious diseases to other people" after he traveled to his home province Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City in July, according to a report on the website of the provincial People's Court.
At Ca Mau, Tri was found to have lied on a health declaration form that asked about his recent travel history and also failed to comply with isolation rules. Local authorities at the time had made it mandatory that anyone traveling from other provinces into Ca Mau had to immediately isolate themselves for 21 days.
Tri later tested positive for Covid and was found to have transmitted the virus to members of his family as well as staff at a welfare center that he visited. Tri was sentenced to jail at the end of a one-day trial and was also fined the equivalent of $880 (£630).
After keeping case numbers low last year, Vietnam is now dealing with its most serious Covid-19 outbreak so far, with nearly 540,000 infections and more than 13,000 deaths recorded.
