I can't remember which country ... but I heard this morning on NPR that two individuals were charged with something like "attempted murder", because they knew they were infected, but went out in public and exposed others to the virus.
Yep. I was telling a friend a couple months ago, before this whole Covid-19 thing (but during flu season) ... if you walk into a building full of people and spray a canister of influenza around - you can be charged with bioterrorism. But if you walk into the same building full of people, and have the flu and sneeze/cough everywhere - you probably won't be charged with anything. But either way, you are infecting the same people with the same "bio agent".
Under the extreme circumstances today, if someone knows they're positive for the virus, and deliberately cough on someone, yes, there should be some punishment. Actually, now that I think of it, even if you don't know whether or not you're positive, you should still be punished because you could be infectious even if you don't have symptoms.
It has always been a crime. It's also a tort. It is a battery if done intentionally and offends the person on whom you cough. If you act like you are going to cough on someone in order to scare them that is an assault, both criminally and civilly.
kjames 