VIENNA, Austria — A 54-year-old Austrian woman was sentenced to four months of suspended imprisonment and fined 800 euros ($886.75) after being found guilty of fatally infecting her neighbour with COVID-19 in 2021, according to local reports.
This marks her second pandemic-related conviction within a year.
The woman was convicted of grossly negligent homicide after a virological report indicated that she “almost 100 per cent” transmitted the virus to her neighbour, who was also a cancer patient.
The victim later died from pneumonia caused by the coronavirus, as confirmed by the Austrian news agency APA.
The incident occurred in December 2021 when the defendant allegedly had contact with her neighbour in a shared stairwell, despite being aware that she was infected with COVID-19.
The defendant denied meeting the victim, claiming she was too ill with bronchitis to leave her bed that day.
However, the court heard testimony from her doctor, who stated that the defendant had tested positive for COVID-19 and had expressed reluctance to quarantine.
“I feel sorry for you personally—I think that something like this has probably happened hundreds of times,” the judge said while delivering the sentence.
“But you are unlucky that an expert has determined with almost absolute certainty that it was an infection that came from you.”
The case has drawn attention as it is one of the few instances in which a person has been held criminally liable for transmitting COVID-19.
The names of the victim and the defendant were not disclosed due to Austrian privacy laws.
This is not the defendant’s first pandemic-related conviction.
Last summer, she was sentenced to three months’ suspended imprisonment for intentionally endangering people through communicable diseases, although she was acquitted of grossly negligent homicide at the time.
Although the judge issued the sentence on Thursday, September 12, 2024, APA reports that the verdict is not yet final, leaving room for potential appeals.
The case has highlighted the complex legal and ethical questions surrounding COVID-19 transmission, particularly in cases where the virus leads to fatal outcomes.
As COVID-19 continues to circulate globally, legal accountability for spreading the virus has remained a contentious and evolving issue in many countries.
