A court in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, on Friday sentenced a man to 18 months in jail for obstructing the prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
 

The man, surnamed Guo, traveled abroad from March 1 to 6 and defied rules on self-quarantine and reporting overseas travel to authorities after returning home in Zhengzhou, according to a statement jointly issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security.

On February 29, he took a train from Zhengzhou to Beijing;
On March 1, he took a flight from Beijing Capital Airport via Abu Dhabi, UAE, and arrived at Milan Airport, Italy on March 2.
March 3, he took a flight from Milan, Italy to Paris, France;
On March 4, he took a flight from Paris, France back to Milan, Italy;
On March 6, he took a flight Milan, Italy to Abu Dhabi, and arrived at Beijing Capital Airport on March 7; on the afternoon of the same day, he took a train back to Zhengzhou

He returned home on March 7 and went to work on March 8 and 9 by subway and developed a fever and a sore throat on March 9, read the statement.
 

On March 10, Guo refused to answer phone calls from local police and his mother lied to police about his overseas trips.
 

Guo was later confirmed to be infected with coronavirus. More than 40 people in close contact with him have been put under quarantine, said the statement.
 

Guo was charged with obstructing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the people's court in Erqi District in Zhengzhou. He pled guilty and accepted the punishment, according to the statement.