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The woman who lied about her coronavirus symptoms on a flight from the US to China and caused 63 others to be quarantined was sentenced to one year in prison for obstructing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, the court said.

The People's Court in Beijing's Shunyi district ruled in October that Li Na, 37, committed the crime of obstructing the prevention of infectious diseases and was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and one year's probation. 

Li, a former employee of US company Biogen, had developed symptoms while in the US and took antipyretics before boarding her flight to China in March, 2020. She did not disclose her symptoms until landing at the Beijing International Airport. Li was later confirmed as a coronavirus patient on March 13, and 63 of her close contacts were forced to undergo quarantine. 

Li's actions have violated anti-epidemic rules of China's customs and civil aviation departments and posed a severe risk of causing the virus to spread, and thus constituted the crime of obstructing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, said the court's verdict.

Li was sentenced to one year in prison and one year's probation, it said. 

Global Times