Cirko was arrested after police say she went into the supermarket and started coughing all over the fresh produce, as well as the bakery and meat sections.
Margaret Ann Cirko
A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to two years imprisonment after she purposely coughed and spat on food in a supermarket while screaming she had COVID-19.
Margaret Ann Cirko, 37, apologized in court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a felony charge of making bomb threats over the March 2020 incident in a Gerrity’s Supermarket near Wilkes-Barre.
Cirko was arrested after police say she went into the supermarket and started coughing all over the fresh produce, as well as the bakery and meat sections.
At the time, Cirko was screaming: “I have the virus, now you are all going to get sick.”
Joe Fasula, the co-owner of the supermarket chain, claimed they had to throw out $35,000 worth of food and products as a result of Cirko’s actions.
Fasula later described it as a “twisted prank” but said customers and employees at the time were terrified they were going to get sick.
Given it took place at the beginning of the pandemic, Fasula said no one knew if the virus could spread on surfaces.
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