He was convicted of spreading dangerous infectious diseases to other people after he travelled to his home province Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City in July.

A court has sentenced a Vietnamese man to 5 years imprisonment for spreading the deadly COVID-19 virus after he breached home quarantine rules.

Le Van Tri was convicted of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases to other people” after he travelled to his home province Ca Mau from coronavirus hotspot Ho Chi Minh City in July, according to a report on the website of the provincial People’s Court.

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

“Tri’s breach of the home medical quarantine regulation led to many people becoming infected with Covid-19 and one person died on 7 August 2021,” according to the court report.

State media said eight people became infected because of Tri.

After keeping case numbers low last year, Vietnam is now dealing with its most serious Covid-19 outbreak so far, with nearly 540,000 infections and more than 13,000 deaths recorded.