Coronavirus: Woman charged in UK after threatening to give supermarket worker Covid-19

Thirty-one-year-old alleged to have been shoplifting

The attack took place at Co-Op supermarket in Gravesend, south-east England. Google Street View

A woman has been charged in the UK after allegedly making threats to pass Covid-19 on to a supermarket worker, police said on Friday.

Erica Horvathova of Milroy Avenue, in Northfleet, was arrested on May 21 and later charged with assault and theft.

Ms Horvathova, 31, is alleged to have made threats to pass the virus to a supermarket worker in Gravesend, south-east England, by coughing on her, Kent Police said in a statement. It is alleged she then left the store without paying for items.

The incident was originally reported by the supermarket on April 13.

Ms Horvathova is on bail and is scheduled to appear before Medway Magistrates’ Court on June 23.

Last week a railway ticket officer in London who caught Covid-19 after being spat and coughed at while working on the concourse died in hospital. The suspect was questioned by police earlier this week.