What are the penalty for F0 individuals when failing medical declarations in Vietnam? Can they be criminally imposed?
Who is F0?
According to the guidance in Section 2 of Official Dispatch 11042/BYT-DP dated December 29, 2021, F0 is as follows:
"2. Confirmed case (F0) is one of the following cases:
a) A person who has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method.
b) A person who is an F1 and has a positive SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT.
c) A person showing clinical signs or symptoms of a suspected case (specified in Point a Section 1), having a positive SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT and meeting epidemiological criteria (excluding F1).
d) A person who has a positive SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT twice in a row (the 2nd test result is given within 8 hours from time of obtaining the 1st positive test result) and meets epidemiological criteria (excluding F1).
Biologicals used in SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT must be ones approved by the Ministry of Health. Ag-RDT must be performed by health officers or persons who meet suspected case criteria under either direct or indirect supervision of health officers."
According to the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of Decision 219/QD-BYT in 2020, Covid-19 has been added to the list of A infectious diseases group, specifically:
"Article 1. Adding acute respiratory infections caused by nCoV to the list of group A infectious diseases as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 3 of the 2007 Law on Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control.
Article 2. Activities to prevent and control acute respiratory infections caused by nCov are carried out in accordance with regulations for particularly dangerous infectious diseases capable of very fast transmission, wide spread and high mortality ( belongs to group A according to the provisions of the 2007 Law on Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control).
Accordingly, group A of infectious diseases are diseases specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of the 2007 Law on Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control as follows:
"Article 3. Classification of infectious diseases
1. Infectious diseases are divided into the following classes:
a/ Class A, consisting of extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates or with unknown agents.
Class-A infectious diseases include poliomyelitis; influenza A-H5N1; plague: smallpox: Ebola virus. Lassa virus and Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever: West Nile fever: yellow fever cholera; SARS and dangerous infectious diseases newly emerging and with unknown agents;"
What are the administrative fines for home-based F0 individuals when failing medical declarations in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 7 of Decree 117/2020/ND-CP, the administrative fines for home-based F0 individuals when failing medical declarations is as follows:
"Article 7. Violations against regulations on infectious disease surveillance
1. A fine ranging from VND 500.000 to VND 1.000.000 shall be imposed for concealing, failing to report or delaying the reporting when detecting a person infected with an infectious disease as prescribed by law, except the case prescribed in Point a Clause 3 of this Article.
2. A fine ranging from VND 1.000.000 to VND 3.000.000 shall be imposed for commission of one of the following violations:
a) Failing to perform tests at the request of competent health agencies during the infectious disease surveillance;
b) Failing to submit reports or submitting reports which do not contain adequate information on infectious disease surveillance as prescribed by law;
c) Concealing, failing to report or delaying the reporting on the infection with an infectious disease of oneself, except the case prescribed in Point a Clause 3 of this Article.
3. A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed for commission of one of the following violations:
a) Concealing, failing to report or delaying the reporting on the status of infection with a group-A infectious disease of oneself or another person;
b) Deliberately providing false reports or information on a group-A infectious disease;
c) Deliberately spreading pathogens causing group-A infectious diseases."
Thus, A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed for commission of failing to report, depending on the severity of the violation. The fines also apply for failing to report or delaying the reporting on the status of infection with a group-A infectious disease of oneself or another person or deliberately failing to report and providing false reports or information on a group-A infectious disease or deliberately spreading pathogens causing group-A infectious diseases.
Can home-based F0 individuals be criminally imposed if they intentionally go out?
According to the instructions in subsection 1.1, section 1 of Official Dispatch 45/TANDTC-PC dated March 30, 2020 as follows:
"1. Determination of offenses according to the Criminal Code
1.1. When a person who has been informed that he/she is a confirmed case of Covid-19 infection (hereinafter referred to as “confirmed case”, is suspected of Covid-19 infection (hereinafter referred to as “suspected case”) or returns from an affected area and is requested to quarantine commits one of the following actions and subsequently transmits Covid-19 to another person, he/she will face a charge of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases in human” according to Point c Clause 1 Article 240:
a) Breaking out of the quarantine area;
b) Failure to comply with quarantine regulations;
c) Refusing or avoiding quarantine or enforcement of quarantine;
d) Failure to make or truthfully make health declaration."
Thus, according to the law, for home-based F0 individuals, If they intentionally go out that causes the spread of Covid-19 to others, the act may constitute a criminal under the provisions of this Law. According to Point c, Clause 1, Article 240 of the 2015 Penal Code and shall be sanctioned as follows:
"Article 240. Spreading dangerous infectious diseases in human
1. A person who commits any of the following acts that spread dangerous infectious diseases in human shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of 01 - 05 years' imprisonment:
…
c) Other acts that spread dangerous infections in humans"
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