Separate incidents include 66-year-old woman and police officers allegedly being spat at and coughed on

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

A 14-year-old boy has been charged after a woman was allegedly coughed on and spat at in Greater Manchester, while a 38-year-old man accused of spitting blood in the face of police officers has been remanded in custody.

There have been multiple reports of people deliberately coughing at others, including NHS staff, in an attempt to frighten them as anxiety grows amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with one count of section 39 assault and will appear at the youth bench of the Tameside magistrates court on 7 April, police said.

Officers were called just before 8.30pm on 17 March to a report that a boy had been coughing and shouting “coronavirus” at a 66-year-old woman in Ashton-under-Lyne town centre in Tameside.

Separately, Samuel Konneh, 38, was remanded in custody at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on Saturday. The court heard that the defendant was accused of four counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent relating to spitting at the officers.

Police were responding to reports of a woman being assaulted in Withington, south Manchester, on Thursday when the defendant allegedly spat at them.

The defendant is also accused of one count of stalking and one of battery, relating to a female victim. All the offences were alleged to have taken place on Thursday, and no pleas were entered.

Also in Manchester, Mateusz Rejewski, 33, has been charged with assault after allegedly coughing at a police officer and claiming to have coronavirus.

Greater Manchester police said he was charged with one count of common assault on an emergency service worker – who is now self-isolating as a precaution – and one count of breaching a dispersal notice.

Rejewski has been remanded in custody and will appear at Manchester magistrates court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a group of teenagers in Cheshire who claimed to have coronavirus and deliberately coughed at NHS staff will be prosecuted, police have said.

Sgt Hillyard of Cheshire police wrote on social media: “The youths will be prosecuted as will their parental guardians. This is an absolutely abhorrent incident involving abuse of our NHS heroes.

“I will once again urge all parents and persons with parental responsibility to make sure that their children stay inside. You too can and will be prosecuted if you fail to keep your children inside.”

In Scotland, officers said they were aware of a number of incidents where people have allegedly coughed, or threatened to cough, on elderly or vulnerable people after suggesting they were infected with Covid-19.

A healthcare worker was allegedly coughed on by a teenager who waved her over as she drove home from work in Aberdeenshire on Friday.

When she stopped the car he moved towards her and coughed directly in her face, telling her that she would now get coronavirus before running off into the woods laughing, police said, confirming the incident was being treated as assault.

Police Scotland confirmed action would be taken against offenders. “This is not a harmless prank – this is extremely upsetting to victims and causes fear and increased anxiety at an already stressful time,” Ch Supt David Duncan said.

“We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour and we will take robust action against anyone threatening other people in this way.”

Police are appealing for information about the incident in Aberdeenshire, which happened on the road from Inchmarlo golf course to Brathens Wood at about 1.40pm on Friday.

Sgt Garry Garrow, of Banchory police station, said: “This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It left the woman distressed and fearful.”