COVID-19: S’Korea jails patient for fleeing, as global fundraising for vaccine, drugs exceeds $10bn

Concerned authorities in South Korea have jailed a 27-year-old man for four months on Tuesday for breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules, after he ran away from an isolation centre.

The man was arrested in April after breaking the quarantine rules twice, when he first left his residence while under 14-day self-isolation and was then moved to a quarantine facility, where he was again caught leaving without permission.

The man was “convicted of violating the Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention Act, and was given four months in jail”, the country’s first such prison sentence, an official at the Uijeongbu District Court revealed.

Meanwhile, a global campaign to fund the development of vaccines and therapies against COVID-19 has so far raised $10.4bn, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said.

“Great result, reaching 1st milestone of GlobalResponse pledging marathon led by EU Commission,” Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

The pledging campaign, which the United States shunned, raised $8bn from global leaders and other institutions on May 4, when it was launched.