A 28-year-old Vietnamese man has been sentenced to five years in prison for breaching coronavirus quarantine protocols and spreading the virus to others, reports Reuters.
According to state-run Vietnam News Agency, Le Van Tri was convicted of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases” at a one-day trial on Monday at the people’s court of the southern province of Ca Mau.
“Tri travelled back to Ca Mau from Ho Chi Minh City and breached the 21-day quarantine regulations. He infected eight people, one of whom died due to the virus after one month of treatment,” the news agency stated.
Due to the targeted mass testing, aggressive contact tracing, tight border restrictions, and strict quarantine, Vietnam had been one of the world’s coronavirus success stories.
Ca Mau, Vietnam’s southernmost province has reported only 191 cases and two deaths since the pandemic began, much lower than the country’s capital.
In the past few months, the vast majority of cases and deaths were reported. So far more than 536,000 cases have been reported.
Prior to this, the country sentenced two other people to 18-month and two-year suspended jail terms on the same charges.
