Bahrain: COVID-19 positive man tries to infect doctors with virus, is jailed for three years

Cairo: A Bahraini court has convicted a man infected with the novel coronavirus of deliberately seeking to transmit the infection to doctors, and sentenced him to three years in prison.

The Minor Criminal Court also ordered the unidentified convict of paying a fine of 1,000 Bahraini dinars, public prosecution Chief Adnan Al Wadai said.

The case started when the Public Health Directorate was notified that a man had come to a health centre to do a new test for COVID-19 after he had earlier tested positive.

During the process, he deliberately removed his face mask and sneezed in front of doctors working in the centre. He also sneezed into his hands and then touched doctors in an attempt to transmit the virus to them.

Prosecutors had interrogated the man and ordered him remanded until he was put on trial.

In recent weeks, Bahraini authorities have stepped up a crackdown on violators of the virus precautions in a bid to contain the pandemic spread.