London Rail Worker Dies Of Coronavirus After Being Spat On

TOPLINE

A railway worker in London died last month after being spat on by a man who claimed to have coronavirus, the worker’s union announced Tuesday, raising questions about the safety of essential workers as the country looks to ease back on coronavirus restrictions.

KEY FACTS

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“It is despicable for a key worker to be attacked in this way while serving the travelling public,” a Downing Street spokesperson told British media outlets Tuesday. “Our thoughts are with Mrs Mujinga’s family at this terrible time.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Cases of people spitting on others and claiming to be trying to infect others with the virus have been seen for months throughout the U.K. and other parts of the world. In April, a man in North Yorkshire was charged with spitting at two ambulance workers, and a Croydon man was sentenced to eight months in jail for spitting on a police officer. In March, the U.K. government announced it would charge “coronavirus coughs,” or intentional spreading of the virus, as assault. In the U.S., The Department of Justice wrote that anyone who intentionally spreads coronavirus could be violating federal terrorism laws, as coronavirus falls under federal law’s definition of a biological agent, according to a memo seen by Politico. In March, a woman in Pennsylvania was charged with two felony counts of terrorist threats and a felony count of threatening to use a “biological agent” after she spat on produce and meat at a grocery store and claimed to be sick.

FURTHER READING

Why Spitters Could Be Charged As Terrorists Because Of The Coronavirus (Forbes)

UK rail worker dies of coronavirus after being spat at while on duty (The Guardian)

Coronavirus: Ticket collector dies with COVID-19 after man claiming to have virus spat on her (Sky News)

UK rail worker died after being spat at by ‘COVID carrier’: union (Reuters)

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