Coronavirus: Emergency workers being spat at 'daily' by people claiming to have COVID-19

Emergency workers battling the coronavirus crisis are being spat at or coughed at daily by people who have or claim to have the deadly virus, the UK's top prosecutor has said.

Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill QC said many had already been jailed for assault or for crimes that cash in on the COVID-19 pandemic

And he warned that others who commit such offences would be fast-tracked into court and risked prison.

Mr Hill said: "It is disappointing to see charges come in on a daily basis of hard-working police officers, NHS staff and other vital workers, being coughed or spat at, sometimes deliberately exposing them to the risk of infecting them with coronavirus.

"We take these offences immensely seriously and want to make it absolutely clear that where there is evidence to do so, people will be prosecuted and can face up to one year in prison."

Mr Hill heads the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which has already warned that crimes related to coronavirus will be dealt with as a priority.

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Among those prosecuted for such crimes in the past three weeks were: