Romanian court has sentenced a man for breaking quarantine rules after he discharged himself from hospital without waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test.
The court in the eastern city of Buzau handed the unnamed man, 50, a six-month suspended sentence in what is the first case of its kind, Mediafax news agency reported.
The man was taken to the Buzau County Hospital in April after experiencing breathing difficulties.
The doctors decided to hospitalize him as his symptoms were similar to SARS-CoV-2, and he’s had contact with his son who had recently returned from a red zone of Italy where the virus was rife.
The man however left the hospital without waiting for the test results, violating rules.
Police located him and returned him to the hospital where he was placed in quarantine. His Covid-19 test eventually came back negative.
As well as the six-month suspended prison sentence, he has been ordered to do community work and enroll in a social rehabilitation program.
Mediafax reported that in mid-June, authorities were pursuing 617 cases of people suspected of breaking rules designed to limit the spread of the disease and making false statements.
Sixteen cases were sent to court, the agency reported.
