SANTIAGO – A 27-year-old man has sentenced to 61 days in prison, becoming the first person to face jail over violation of the coronavirus quarantine measures being followed in more than 40 communes of Chile.
The 12th Santiago Guarantee Court prosecuted the man, identified as JJRU, for violation of Article 318 of the Penal Code, for endangering public health.
The man was arrested on May 17 in the community of La Granja when he was caught violating the health regulations without a corresponding permit. When police personnel proceeded to inspect him, he tried to escape but could not escape the arrest, according to the newspaper El Mercurio.
A third of Chile’s inmates released from prison over coronavirus
The report added that the man has a criminal record in the past.
Since Thursday, Carabineros de Chile (the Chilean police) have arrested 1,247 people from across the country. Of these, 136 were detained for violating the curfew, while 1,111 for violating the health quarantine.
A nivel nacional y durante la última jornada, 1.247 personas fueron privadas de libertad.
➡️Revisa el detalle en la siguiente gráfica.
Respeta las medidas establecidas para poder seguir adelante en la lucha contra la actual pandemia. #OrdenyPatria pic.twitter.com/S4IFjk5MnQ
— Carabineros de Chile (@Carabdechile) June 12, 2020
Chile has surpassed France to become the 12th country with most number of coronavirus cases, a total of 160,846 till Friday. The Health Ministry has so far recorded 2,870 deaths related to COVID-19 infection, while there are 26,618 active cases in the South American country.
