The violation of measures dictated by the authorities to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus should be treated as a crime and prosecuted, the Supreme Court said on Thursday in a memo to the country’s prosecutorial services.

In the memo, Supreme Court Prosecutor Vassilis Pliotas cited Article 285 of the Penal Code, which foresees stiff penalties for people violating regulations designed to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases.

He urged prosecutors to “intervene” in the event that an individual behaves in a manner that “endangers fundamental legally protected rights like the right to life and physical wellbeing.”

The memo comes in the wake of reports of an investigation being ordered into rumors in the western port city of Patra that several people who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 earlier this month were flouting orders to stay in self-containment at home.