Coronavirus: Man charged with GBH after 'deliberately coughing in paramedic's face'

29 March 2020, 12:14

Paramedic's are on the frontline of the fight against the virus
Paramedic's are on the frontline of the fight against the virus. Picture: Getty

By Kate Buck

A man has been arrested and charged after being accused of deliberately coughing in a paramedic's face.

The ambulance service was called just before 11pm on Saturday to a man in Stroud, Gloucestershire, who was feeling unwell.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said while they were attending, another man who was self-isolating in the same address coughed in the face of one of the paramedics.

"The man, a 43-year-old, was arrested, charged and remanded for assaulting an emergency worker by way of coughing and threatening GBH by infecting with Covid-19," they added.

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Paramedics are at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus, and are continually putting themselves at risk of falling ill to ensure the health and safety of their patients.

And in the Republic of Ireland, a teenager has been charged after spitting in the face of a police officer and claiming he had Covid-19.

The Gardai were attending a domestic incident in Cork in the early hours of Sunday when the 9-year-old is said to become aggressive with officers as they were leaving.