Vietnamese man jailed for 5 years for spreading Covid

A Vietnamese man has been sentenced to five years in jailfor spreading Covid-19 after he breached home quarantine rules.

Le Van Tri was convicted of "spreading dangerousinfectious diseases to other people" after he travelled to his homeprovince Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City in July, according toa report on the website of the provincial People's Court.

The 28-year-old was accused of breaching a 21-day homequarantine regulation in the southern province, which had a lower case ratethan Ho Chi Minh City, and he tested positive for Covid-19 on July 7.

"Tri's breach of the home medical quarantine regulationled to many people becoming infected with Covid-19 and one person died on 7August 2021," according to the court report.

State media said eight people became infected because ofTri. After keeping case numbers low last year, Vietnam is nowdealing with its most serious Covid-19 outbreak so far, with nearly 540,000infections and more than 13,000 deaths recorded.

The vast majority of infections and deaths have beenreported since the end of April, and Vietnam's capital Hanoi and commercial hubHo Chi Minh city have been in strict lockdown for most of the past few months. Several people have been sentenced for spreading Covid-19 toothers in Vietnam.