His Doctor Ordered Him to Self-Isolate. He Didn't. Now He's Facing Criminal Charges.

In what may be the first case of its kind in Illinois, a man who walked into a busy gas station store after posting on Facebook that he had been ordered to self-isolate because of coronavirus symptoms now faces criminal charges of reckless conduct.

The 36-year-old man, who had stopped in the store so his 4-year-old son could use the bathroom, was recognized by an employee who had gone to high school with him and saw his social media post. After the man left, the employee alerted her supervisor, who then called authorities.

The incident at The Gas Station, a convenience store in Sainte Marie, a town of 250 people in southeastern Illinois, reflects the heightened anxieties about the coronavirus pandemic and attempts to halt its spread. Store employees and county officials said the man acted carelessly by ignoring medical advice and putting others at risk.

“That individual entered into a Jasper County business and was clearly not self-isolating,” Chad Miller, the state’s attorney in the county, said in a press release. Miller alleged that the man’s actions “showed a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/his-doctor-ordered-him-to-self-isolate-he-didnt-now-hes-facing-criminal-charges/ar-BB11VGc2?li=BBnb7Kz