Millions of people became infected with the deadly virus during the Corona pandemic. They often became infected from neighbors, friends, colleagues or family members. But can they be prosecuted for contracting a virus? Yes, a court has now decided and sentenced a woman.
An Austrian court has held a woman responsible for the death of her neighbor from Corona. The regional court in Klagenfurt considered it proven that the defendant, now 54 years old, had intentionally infected the man suffering from cancer in Stiegenhaus (Carinthia) in December 2021. She was sentenced to a suspended sentence of four months for grossly negligent homicide. In addition, the woman must pay a fine of 200 daily rates of four euros each, with a total value of 800 euros. The verdict is not yet final.
The man, who already suffered from cancer, died of pneumonia as a result of the corona infection. An expert determined through genetic analysis that the deceased’s virus and the woman’s virus were “almost 100 percent” identical. Such a high degree of coverage is very rare because corona viruses change rapidly, the expert explained.
No quarantine despite a positive test
“I feel sorry for you personally – I think that something like this has probably happened hundreds of times,” said Judge Sabine Götz in her verdict to the defendant. “But you are unlucky that an expert has determined with almost absolute certainty that it was an infection that came from you.” That is enough for a guilty verdict, explained the judge.
In July 2023, the woman had already been sentenced to a suspended sentence of three months for intentionally endangering people through communicable diseases. She had disregarded her mandatory quarantine despite testing positive for corona in December 2021.
The woman denied her own infection, saying that corona did not exist. For “ideological reasons,” the defendant was careless about her illness, which was diagnosed by antigen and PCR tests. She was opposed to the measures to combat the pandemic because they did not fit into her worldview. She knew about her neighbor’s serious cancer, had a good relationship, and still spoke to him for a long time without a mask.
According to his family, the neighbor had met the woman suffering from Corona in the hallway. She said she was too sick to even get up at the time. From her point of view, she did not have Corona, but bronchitis, “like I have every year in winter,” she said in court. ■
