Woman jailed for coughing on supermarket groceries claiming she had Covid

A Pennsylvania woman, who pleaded guilty to coughing and spitting on food at a supermarket during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, was on Tuesday given a jail term up to two years followed by eight years of probation.

Margaret Ann Cirko, 37, had entered a Gerrity's supermarket in Hanover township on 25 March last year and purposely coughed on food while screaming that she had the coronavirus and that everyone would get sick, authorities said.

The incident took place at a time when Covid-19 was spreading widely in the US, overwhelming healthcare systems in several parts of the country and causing a large number of deaths.