Man gets 5 years in jail for spreading Covid

Despite their strong containment records at the beginning of the pandemic, Vietnam has seen a large surge of Covid-19 infections since June 2020, which was primarily fueled by the Delta variant. With over 530,000 cases and 13,300 deaths (most of which occurred recently), the country has enforced tighter regulations in high-risk regions like Ho Chi Minh City in an effort to minimize the spread of the virus. Additionally, local authorities in provinces like Ca Mau have mandated that travelers isolate themselves for 21 days upon arriving and must declare their recent travel history.

One offender, Le Van Tri, arriving in Ca Mau from Ho Chi Minh City lied about his travel history during the health declaration and failed to comply with isolation rules. After testing positive for Covid later, he was sentenced to jail for five years at the end of a one-day trial and fined $880 USD. While this fine may seem relatively small, I should note that the average monthly salary in Vietnam is around $300 USD – meaning that this penalty could be equivalent to a 2–5-month salary for Tri. Since his arrival, he has transmitted the virus to family members and staff at a welfare center that he visited – totaling 8 infections and one death.

While it’s important to establish and enforce clear Covid guidelines, I worry about the indirect consequences/externalities from imposing jail time for offenders. From a public health standpoint, imprisoning infected individuals may lead to further spread within prison walls if the authorities don’t handle the case seriously. Seeing how Tri’s case revolves around his noncompliance with the pandemic guidelines, it’s questionable how closely he would adhere to the ones set in prison. Recognizing that Tri’s actions have resulted in someone’s death, one may argue that his sentence is too light (compared to a murder case, which would have a longer sentence). But to put this in another light, should someone who transmitted the flu (which can be airborne) to someone who dies from it receive the same sentence? I understand that the magnitude of the situation between these two diseases may not be exactly the same, but just something to ponder.