A railway ticket office worker has died from coronavirus after being spat at while on duty.
Belly Mujinga was at the concourse of London’s Victoria station on March 22nd when a member of public who announced he had COVID-19 spat at her and a fellow colleague. Both women fell ill with the virus days after the attack.
Ms Mujinga, who had underlying respiratory problems, was then admitted to Barnet Hospital where she was put on a ventilator, before dying on April 5th.
General secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, Manuel Cortes, has said of the incident: “We are shocked and devastated at Belly’s death. She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus.
“Sadly, Belly’s is just one of many family tragedies where children have had their parents taken away from them.
“However, there are serious questions about her death; it wasn’t inevitable.
“As a vulnerable person in the ‘at risk’ category, and her condition known to her employer, there are questions about why she wasn’t stood down from frontline duties early on in this pandemic.
“Rather than talking about the easing the lockdown, the government must first ensure that the right precautions and protections have been taken so that more lives are not lost.”
The British Transport Police have now launched an investigation into the attack on Ms Belly and her colleague.