Covid-19: Spat-at Cambridgeshire police officer tests positive for virus

Chief Constable Nick Dean said he was "disgusted" to hear of the incident

A police officer has tested positive for Covid-19 after being spat at by a suspect who claimed to have the virus.

The officer was attending an incident where there was "concern for a person" at about midnight on 6 January in Soham, Cambridgeshire.

Chief Constable Nick Dean said he was "disgusted" to hear of the incident.

He said the officer's infection could not be directly linked to what happened but it "puts into perspective the dangerous nature of policing".

Cambridgeshire Police Federation chairwoman Liz Groom said the suspect "did turn out to have coronavirus".

"It seems a bit of a weapon to some people - it's that extra threat 'I've got coronavirus' and then they spit.

"You can imagine the stress and the anxiety that causes the officer and also their family.

"The officers have families at home and what they don't want to do is go home and infect their family as well."

On Tuesday, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she would back police to enforce laws and that a minority of the public were "putting the health of the nation at risk" by flouting lockdown rules.

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