Thousands arrested in China for ‘virus-related crimes’

Nearly 5,800 people suspected of these crimes have been arrested since January

china-coronavirus-cases-covid19 Representational Image | Reuters

Killing health workers, selling defective medical equipment and lying about travel history or health condition are some of the charges over which thousands of Chinese citizens have been arrested in the country since January this year.

As per the state prosecutor, nearly 5,800 people suspected of crimes related to the novel coronavirus pandemic have been arrested, an AFP report says.

“From January to July, 5,797 people were arrested and 6,755 were prosecuted,” the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said in a statement.

The “virus-related crimes” also involve misusing of funds collected to help COVID-19 patients. Cases of murder have also been reported across the country with one person mowing down health workers with a car, and another beating a person to death for having been asked to wear a mask in a supermarket.

A health inspector was also stabbed with a dagger by a person when monitoring temperatures.

The coronavirus, which originated in the city of Wuhan late last year, has wreaked havoc around the world, with the global count crossing 25 million. China has bought the spread of COVID-19 under control with mandatory rules with regard to wearing masks and social distancing, strict lockdowns, aggressive contact tracing, monitoring of neighbourhoods, keeping track of possible cases though apps etc.

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