A passenger has been arrested for licking his hand and wiping it on a handrail on the Belgian subway, forcing the train to be taken off service and disinfected.

The unidentified man, who appears intoxicated, can be seen removing his mask before bringing his hand to his mouth and licking it.

He then brings his right hand up to the vertical rail and grips it, before rubbing it along the bar.

In the footage posted on the 9 March, the man can be seen cradling his can of beer on the Belgium subway system

The man, who the Brussels public transport system said was intoxicated, can be seen pulling down his face mask

He then lifts his right hand up to his mouth and licks his fingers while eyeing the vertical Brussels subway rail in front of him

The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company, the capital's public transport provider, tweeted shortly after the event: 'The man (intoxicated) was arrested by the police and our security service.

'The subway train was withdrawn from service to be disinfected.

'Thank you for your message.

'Our metros are cleaned every day.'

The video, posted by a user who preferred to remain anonymous, was uploaded to Twitter on Saturday and social media users were outraged by the man's behaviour.

Soon after he reaches out and grabs the rail in his palm before rubbing it up and down on the Brussels subway train, much to the disgust of social media users and the woman who posted the incident on 9 March

Not yet satisfied, the man then makes sure his spit is well distributed on the Brussels subway hand rail

Miss Dior said (in translations): 'Is this a big joke? He is disgusting.'

Some called for ministerial intervention.

Jean Stalker said (in translation): 'We could report it to the government but they don't give a damn.'

Dimx recommended 'criminal punishment'.

Belgium's health ministry said on Sunday the number of coronavirus cases in the country had reached 200.

It said the virus had started to circulate locally among the Belgian population, and two members of staff at the Council of the European Union were among the infections.