SINGAPORE: A man from Wuhan was charged on Friday (Feb 27), along with his wife, under the Infectious Diseases Act for obstructing the work of health officials containing the spread of COVID-19.
Hu Jun, a 38-year-old China national from Wuhan, was charged with one count of obstructing contact tracing.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHu arrived in Singapore on Jan 22 and was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Jan 31, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said earlier this week.
His wife Shi Sha, a 36-year-old China national who lives in Singapore, was given three charges of obstructing health officials' work, and another charge of failing to comply with isolation conditions.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: Bonus for public officers on front line; political leaders to take pay cuts[/h]After her husband was diagnosed, Shi was issued with a quarantine order on Feb 1. However, she allegedly did not comply with this.
AdvertisementAdvertisementHu fully recovered from the infection and was discharged from hospital on Feb 19.
MOH said in a statement on Wednesday that both Hu and Shi had given false information to MOH officials about their movements and whereabouts between Jan 22 and Jan 29.
MOH officials had contacted the couple in order to carry out contact tracing, but Shi purportedly lied to them even when she was under quarantine.
[h=3]READ: 3 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore, including 12-year-old student from Raffles Institution: MOH[/h]MOH was able to establish their true movements through detailed investigations, it said.
If convicted of the charges, both husband and wife face penalties of up to six months' jail, a maximum S$10,000 fine, or both, per charge.
As of Thursday night, there were 96 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Singapore. Of these, eight are in a critical condition and 66 cases have fully recovered.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the novel coronavirus and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: Telegram: Contact @cnalatest
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