They ask for jail for Hugo López-Gatell for walking with COVID-19: how much is the sentence they are asking for

The Under-Secretary for Prevention and Health Promotion, Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez, was reported to the Attorney General of the Republic (FGR) to put risk to the health of the Mexican population.

According to the newspaper The Herald, Frida Esparza, Federal Member of the Democratic Revolution Party (PET), filed a complaint against López-Gatell on Friday. This after being caught walking in the streets of the Condesa neighborhood, when he came back positive for the PCR test.

The lawmaker said she had filed a complaint with the same attorney general, Alejandro Gertz Manero. In this one, requested that the acts committed by the Under-Secretary be investigated.

According to what the Undersecretary expressed in April of last year, a person knowing they have a contagious disease and taking action that they believe could put the public at risk, it might be qualified like a criminality.

“The General health law in its title number 18, in several articles and others later, He considers the penalties to which a person is credited who, knowing that he is suffering from an infectious-contagious disease, deliberately behaves in a way that contributes to contagion.. This is not necessarily a practical question to be resolved and less in the midst of a pandemic, but of course there could be the setup of a crime, ”he said on April 17, 2020.

On top of that, according to a request made by Image news, there is a crime in the Penal Code of Mexico called “Danger of contagion”. This is envisaged in article 159, chapter II and its penalties can range from three months to three years in prison and from 50 to 300 days of fine.

López-Gatell was first seen in nearly three weeks in the Condesa neighborhood, walking with his girlfriend. This despite having tested positive in the second PCR test.

According to some images shared on social media, as well as a screenshot of a local ceviche, López-Gatell was at Parque México on March 10. The undersecretary was only accompanied by his partner.

During the daily COVID-19 conference, the epidemiologist was asked about the photos that circulated on social networks and in a national newspaper. However, the official evaded the question and accused the media of profiting from the scandals.

“[La pregunta] refers to the sad reality of having the media in Mexico, especially the corporate media, who throughout the epidemic and I doubt they will change their attitude, They tried to gain notoriety, I guess for the sake of profit. It is surely more lucrative to obtain information that could generate scandal, which will increase the quotas for advertising tariffs and other sources of revenue, ”said López-Gatell.

However, when he reappeared in the press conference, the researcher also spoke about his case and that he is still contagious.

“People who have required more advanced hospitalization due to advanced lung injury may take several days longer. [con COVID], in some cases up to three or four weeks. Reconcile my particular case with the general rule, in my case, the viral load is still contagious. So for this reason and given that I have a high public contact occupation with federal government officials, it is important that I check that I am not contagious, and at the moment i’m contagious“He admitted last Wednesday.

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