Congolese railway ticketing worker in U.K. dies after being spat at

British Transport Police said an inquiry had been launched to find the man who ad spat on Mrs Belly Mujinga and her colleague. /VCG

A railway ticketing worker in the U.K. has died of COVID-19 after she was spat at by a man who claimed he had contracted the virus.

Belly Mujinga, a 47-year-old Congolese woman who worked at the Victoria station in London, had underlying respiratory problems. She was assaulted in March alongside a female colleague, who also fell ill with the virus.

Her husband Lusamba Gode Katalay said the man had asked his wife what she was doing and why she was there.

"She told him she was working and the man said he had the virus and spat on her," he added.

Mrs Mujinga was admitted to Barnet Hospital on 2 April and was put on a ventilator. She died three days later, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), said.

British Transport Police said an inquiry had been launched to find the man who ad spat on Mrs Mujinga and her colleague.

The attack has been condemned by the Prime Minister’s official spokesman as "despicable".

The U.K. is one of the worst affected countries globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, having registered 227,735 infections and 32,768, according to U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

Other than the U.K., only the U.S. (81,076) and Italy (30,911) have recorded over 30,000 COVID-19-related fatalities.

TSSA has also questioned Mrs Mujinga's involvement in her workplace considering her condition.

"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," said Manuel Cortes, the TSSA general secretary.

Source(s): BBC