China has sentenced a man to prison for 18 months after he spent nearly a week in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic and then failed to report his journey to the police upon his return.
The 29-year-old, known by his surname Guo, refused to self-isolate and tried to hide his symptoms from the authority after developing fevers and a sore throat, according to public prosecutors.
Officers put him under forced quarantine after tracking his movements using the country's mass surveillance system.
Guo was classified as an imported case by the local officials.
More than 40 people have been put under medical observation after coming into close contact with Guo.
The case was reported by the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China today through its official social media account.
According to a statement, Guo lives in the city of Zhengzhou in central China and was sent to Europe on a business trip from March 1 to March 7.
He arrived in Milan on March 2 via Beijing and Abu Dhabi before flying to Paris the next day.
He returned to Milan one day later and on March 6 flew back to Beijing, again via Abu Dhabi.
Guo reached his hometown on March 7 after taking a high-speed train from the Chinese capital city.
Instead of carrying out self-isolation for 14 days, a mandatory requirement from the Chinese government on arrivals from abroad, Guo went back to work straight away.
The notice said he took the subway to work on March 8 and March 9 before experiencing high body temperatures and a sore throat on the night of March 9.
He walked to a pharmacy near his home to buy drugs and then took them at home.
His mother made a tonic with herbs for him to take after being informed of his illness.
