The Albanian government has proposed to parliament to change the Criminal Code, to include fines and prison sentences up to 15 years for violators of quarantine and curfews imposed by government under states of emergency.
Under the government-proposed legal changes:
– Violation of government measures under a state of natural disaster is to be punished by fine or up to 6 months prison time.
– Repeat violators are to be sentenced to a minimum of thirty days in prison, maximum one year.
– Violators who have caused the death of a person by not complying with government orders are to be sentenced from one to 5 years in prison.
– Failure to comply with the quarantine order by a suspect or infected person is to be punishable by fine or up to ten years in prison.
– Violators of quarantine order who have caused serious consequences for someone’s health or life are to be sentenced from 3 to 10 years in prison.
– Violators who may or have caused the death of a person by not complying with government order for quarantine are to be sentenced from 5 to 15 years in prison.
The proposed changes introduce some of the harshest sentences worldwide for violators of quarantine.
Several countries reviewed by Exit News have penalties ranging from fines up to 7 years in prison.
Italy is an exception, with an up to 21-years sentence for those who break the quarantine while being aware that they are infected.
The Chinese Penal Code (Art. 332) stipulates that anyone who violates the quarantine, causing the spread of the disease, is to be sentenced to no more than three years in prison. If the violation causes serious consequences, including the death of other persons, it is punishable by three to seven years in prison.
In South Korea violators of quarantine could be jailed for up to a year and fined US $8,100.
Some states in the US, including Texas, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Mississippi, have sentences of up to one year in prison. Other states impose fines of up to $10,000 for quarantine violators.
