He is accused of not respecting his quarantine when he suffered from coronavirus. A young Alsatian who went to South Africa is charged with attempted murder, he said on Thursday. This 25-year-old young man, who has returned to France since then and wishes to remain anonymous, flew to South Africa with five friends on March 14, a few days before the announcement of the confinement in France.
In Kruger National Park, he was taken by headaches and a slight fever which led him to consult a doctor, fearing malaria. This risk has been eliminated. The doctor then gave him a test to find Covid-19 but, according to the young man, he did not ask him to stay in Kruger Park while waiting for the results.
Returned to France on April 18
"We wanted to go to Swaziland, he advised us to go to Saint Lucia [on the South African east coast] because the borders were closed," he said. A few days later, the friends were intercepted in Saint Lucia and sent to quarantine in various hospitals. All are positive for Covid-19, although only one showed mild symptoms. The young man receives a call from the police to inform him that he is "under arrest for attempted murder after the spread of the Covid-19 in South Africa," he said.
After 14 days of quarantine, the Frenchman can only recover his passport after having signed a document attesting to the honor that he will attend his trial, scheduled for June 26 in Mtubatuba (east). He was finally able to return home, in the Bas-Rhin, on April 18, a week after his friends.
A second person also charged
On March 25, South African Police Minister Bekhi Cele announced that two people with coronavirus had been charged with attempted murder for failing to comply with their quarantine procedures. The first was a recent 50-year-old foreigner, positive for Covid-19, who had continued to work in his hair salon. The police presented the second as a tourist, who tested positive while on vacation in Kruger Park. Police spokesman Vish Naidoo said he ignored orders to stay at his hotel and went to Saint Lucia where he interacted "with an unknown number of people".
Since March 27, 57 million South Africans have been under strict confinement. This Tuesday, the assessment amounted in the country to 3,465 cases of coronavirus, including 58 deaths.
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