Key Sentence:
- A Vietnamese citizen was sentenced to five years in prison for violating Covid-19 rules and spreading the virus.
- The court found Le Van Tri guilty of transmitting a “dangerous infectious disease” to eight people, one of whom eventually died.
To date, Vietnam has succeeded mainly in shielding Covid from tight restrictions. Infections have been on the rise since June, with the outbreak sparked by the more contagious version of Delta. The country has seen more than 530,000 cases with more than 13,300 deaths, many in recent months.
Many of these cases are found in Ho Chi Minh City.
In early July, 28-year-old Tri rode a motorcycle from Ho Chi Minh City to his home. To province of Ka Mau in the south. In Ca Mau, it was found that Tri lied on a health declaration form asking for his recent travel history and did not follow the isolation rules. The local government at the time required that anyone traveling from other provinces in Ka Mau be immediately isolated for 21 days.
Tri later tested positive for Covid, and it was known. That the virus had spread to his family members and employees of the social institutions he visited. Three were sentenced to prison terms and a fine of $880 (£630) at the end of the all-day trial.