Cluster woman not charged for spreading virus

A woman who traveled to Cyprus and made headlines after several infections across the island were linked back to her has been charged in a court of law for violating health protocols, with prosecutors ending up not accusing her of spreading a communicable disease.

According to local media, a woman who traveled from the United States to the Republic of Cyprus earlier in the summer, was accused by health ministry officials of violating self-quarantine and spreading the coronavirus across the island.

A cluster with around 30 cases was linked back to the violator according to media reports and statements by officials, with dozens more placed in self-isolation as a precaution.

But new details during her trial in a Larnaca courtroom, where she is facing a single charge of violating health protocols, revealed that she had not tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing to the island or during a repeat test. Additional reports said she tested positive later, after she was found to have broken her quarantine.

Prosecutors said investigators determined the woman had not been infected when she initially broke her quarantine prior to the end of mandatory self-isolation, a 14-day period for travelers from high-risk countries.

It was reported that the woman walked freely in Larnaca during her quarantine period and had even traveled to other districts to visit friends and relatives. But prosecutors reportedly could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that she knowingly infected others.

Reports said the woman will be sentenced on one count of violating public health decrees but she will not prosecuted for knowingly spreading the coronavirus.

It was understood that she was most likely infected during one of her visits but the infected contact was never determined or revealed during the course of the investigation.