Chinese court slaps two-year jail term on man for jumping Covid-19 quarantine
Beijing, Sep 2 (efe-epa).- A court in China’s central Sichuan province has sentenced a man to a two years in prison for jumping quarantine after returning from Wuhan, the original epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic, where he had contracted the new coronavirus.
The Jingyang district court in the city of Deyang held the man, identified by his surname Guo, guilty of “obstructing the prevention and control of infectious diseases” and sentenced him to a two-year prison term, according to a court statement issued Wednesday.
On Jan. 22, Guo had returned to his village Hangxu from Wuhan – where had been working – just a day before the city imposed a strict lockdown to check the spread of the virus, which continued for more than two months.
According to the court, the man was instructed to isolate himself at his home as per the prevention measures in place at the time, but he violated the norms and visited a casino at night.
On Jan. 26, Guo developed fever and cough and was diagnosed with Covid-19, along with other villagers who had come into contact with him on the night he went out.
The court judgment said that two villages had to face a complete lockdown due to the fault of the convict, who led to “hundreds of persons” having to be quarantined.
In February, Chinese prosecutors had warned that Covid-19 patients and carriers of the virus would face harsh punishments for spreading the virus intentionally, refusing to observe quarantine, escaping from isolation or using public transport.
They added that such actions would be considered “violence” against urban and rural community workers mobilized by the government in prevention and control efforts during the epidemic.
According to the latest data published on Wednesday, the total number of coronavirus infections in China stood at 85,066, including 4,634 deaths. EFE-EPA
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