The man got into difficulty trying to cross the Pyrenees mountain range into Spain.
The man got into difficulty trying to cross the Pyrenees mountain range into Spain.
PGHM des Pyrénées-Orientales
CNN  — 

Millions of people around the world are adjusting to life under coronavirus safety measures, and France has ordered its population to stay at home.

But one man decided to break quarantine and try to cross the border into Spain in search of cheap cigarettes.

It didn’t end well – he got lost and had to be rescued by the French mountain rescue service, a spokesman for the service told CNN.

A police officer arrives to tell people to leave Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on Saturday, March 28, 2020. Like many cities across the world, Honolulu came to an eerie standstill this weekend as the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the islands. But Hawaii officials went beyond the standard stay-at-home orders and effectively flipped the switch on the state's tourism-fueled economic engine in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. As of Thursday, anyone arriving in Hawaii must undergo a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. The unprecedented move dramatically reduced the number of people on beaches, in city parks and on country roads where many people rely on tourism to pay for the high cost of living in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
A police officer arrives to tell people to leave Waikiki Beach in Honolulu on Saturday, March 28, 2020. Like many cities across the world, Honolulu came to an eerie standstill this weekend as the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the islands. But Hawaii officials went beyond the standard stay-at-home orders and effectively flipped the switch on the state's tourism-fueled economic engine in a bid to slow the spread of the virus. As of Thursday, anyone arriving in Hawaii must undergo a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine. The unprecedented move dramatically reduced the number of people on beaches, in city parks and on country roads where many people rely on tourism to pay for the high cost of living in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
Caleb Jones/AP

Related article Hawaii will fine self-quarantine violators $5,000 or send them to prison

He was “exhausted, shivering and lost” when he was picked up by a rescue helicopter on Saturday, according to a Facebook post from the rescue service, which is a unit of the police.

The man, who hasn’t been named, initially set off from the city of Perpignan by car but found his way blocked by police checkpoints. So he attempted to cross the border to La Jonquera on foot.

However, he got lost on the mountain slopes, fell into a stream and some brambles, and ended up calling for help.

Rescuers quickly located the man, evacuating him by helicopter and taking him to Perpignan, where he was given a €135 ($146) fine for breaking quarantine rules.

BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 12:Chinese office workers wear protective masks as they cross a road during rush hour in the central business district on March 12, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of the deadly new coronavirus COVID-19 being treated in China dropped to below 15,000 in mainland China Thursday, in what the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global public health emergency last month. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease but has moved to ease restrictions in other parts of the province. Officials in Beijing have put in place a mandatory 14 day quarantine for all people returning to the capital from other places in China and abroad. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 3173 on Thursday, mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in many other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and raised concerns over a possible pandemic. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travellers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China.(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 12:Chinese office workers wear protective masks as they cross a road during rush hour in the central business district on March 12, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of the deadly new coronavirus COVID-19 being treated in China dropped to below 15,000 in mainland China Thursday, in what the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global public health emergency last month. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease but has moved to ease restrictions in other parts of the province. Officials in Beijing have put in place a mandatory 14 day quarantine for all people returning to the capital from other places in China and abroad. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 3173 on Thursday, mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in many other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and raised concerns over a possible pandemic. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travellers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China.(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Related article A Chinese Australian woman breached coronavirus quarantine in Beijing to go for a jog -- and lost her job

“We remind you once again: stay at home,” the rescue service wrote.

Governments around the world are punishing people who contravene public health measures designed to prevent the spread of the virus.

In Hawaii, anyone traveling between the state’s islands must quarantine themselves for two weeks, and breaking that quarantine order to gulp some fresh air could earn you up to $5,000 in fines or a year in prison, if convicted.

In China, a Chinese-Australian woman was fired from her job and ordered to leave the country after provoking outrage for breaking quarantine rules to go for a jog.