UK rail worker dies after 'carrier' spat on her
May 12, 2020
Belly Mujinga, a 47-year-old British railway ticket office worker, died last month after a man claiming to carry the novel coronavirus deliberately coughed on her, said her union on Tuesday.
Mujinga worked at the ticket office of London's Victoria Station but was ordered to work on the concourse despite pleading with her superiors to avoid exiting the safety of the ticket box or at least be given protective gear such as a mask. While there, a man assaulted her and her colleague.
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The man said he was carrying the death pathogen and deliberately coughed on both of them. Within days, both women fell ill and tested positive for the virus.
'Shocked and devastated'
Mujinga's condition deteriorated due to an underlying respiratory issue. She was later taken to a hospital, where she was put on a ventilator. Fourteen days after the incident, she died due to complications from COVID-19.
"We are shocked and devastated at Belly's death," said Manuel Cortes, secretary general of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA). "She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus."
Police are investigating the incident.
Deadly pathogen
According to experts, the pathogen's infectious dose — or the amount of particles necessary for it to establish an infection — is likely to be "relatively low," University of Birmingham's Willem van Schaik told science and technology magazine New Scientist.
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The United Kingdom has the second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths behind the US with more than 32,100. It has registered more than 224,000 positive cases.
At the onset of the pandemic, the British government dismissed lockdown measures to curb the virus. However, London has since taken steps to curb the outbreak, including enacting restrictions on gatherings and mobility.
ls/rc (AFP, Reuters)