An Italian man with coronavirus is facing twelve years in prison after he infected multiple doctors and nurses with the Chinese virus because he hid his symptoms out of fear that his rhinoplasty operation could be postponed.
A surgeon, anesthesiologist, and nurse in Italy’s northern Aosta region have all tested positive for the coronavirus after a man concealed his flu symptoms in order to obtain a nose job, according to a report by La Repubblica.
The report added that when the anesthesiologist noticed a rise in the man’s body temperature in the pre-operating room, the patient was then tested for the coronavirus, which returned a positive result.
Now, a prosecutor has officially opened a case against the man, who faces up to twelve years in prison for an “aggravated culpable epidemic,” reports La Repubblica.
The man had worked at a tourist resort in the lower Aosta Valley, where he came into contact with tourists in Lombardy — Italy’s worst-infected region, as well as the epicenter of Europe’s Wuhan virus epidemic.
Italy: Deliberate Coronavirus Spreaders Face up to 21 Years in Prison for Murder https://t.co/8kB9GNjbR9
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 13, 2020
In Italy, people with coronavirus symptoms who refuse to self-quarantine could face murder charges if they fatally infect another person.
According to La Repubblica, the man had a mild cough and burning eyes for days while working at the resort, but did not report his coronavirus symptoms to health professionals, as he feared that his rhinoplasty operation would be postponed.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases among doctors and nurses in Aosta is increasing.
Riccardo Brachet Contul, the regional secretary of the local hospital, Valle d’Aosta, told La Repubblica that it is very important to monitor healthcare workers to ensure that they do not contract the Chinese virus, as hospitals need to be able to function during these difficult times.
“It is necessary that we continue to monitor the health of medical workers, nurses and all health workers to allow us to adopt all the preventive measures that have been taken anyway, and that will have to be implemented in the future to ensure that the Aosta hospital can function,” said Contul.
On Wednesday, Italy hit its highest daily coronavirus death toll yet, as 475 people died of the Chinese virus in a single day — bringing the nation’s overall death toll to nearly 3,000.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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