Doctor Arrested for 'Deliberately Coughing on and Hugging Nurses,' Police Say
A Connecticut doctor has been arrested after he was accused of deliberately coughing on nurses and hugging them.
The alleged incident took place at the UConn Health outpatient surgery clinic in Farmington, Connecticut, on Thursday.
Dr. Cory Edgar, 48, of West Hartford, was charged with with breach of peace, according to the Hartford Courant. The charge is a misdemeanor.
He is due in Hartford Community Court on June 3.
Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman, told the Courant that university police were called because “witnesses and medical workers believed he was purposely disregarding space and safety concerns involving the Coronavirus pandemic.”
The police report said officers were summoned to the clinic in response to a report of a doctor “deliberately coughing on and hugging nurses, causing them a substantial amount of alarm.”
Police said there were multiple witnesses to the incident.
Edgar is not believed to have the coronavirus, UConn Health spokeswoman Jennifer Walker said.
“The involved doctor has confirmed that he is in excellent health and does not to his knowledge have COVID-19,” she said in a statement.
“We can also state that any UConn Health employee with an indication of illness is asked to stay home, and during this pandemic all employees are screened for symptoms prior to entering the premises.”
Edgar teaches at the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute as an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery.
This is not the only alleged case of deliberate coughing that has come to the attention of authorities amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
A New Jersey man who is accused of deliberately coughing at a grocery store worker and then telling the worker he had the coronavirus now faces charges of making a terroristic threat, according to NBC News.
In Britain, incidents of people coughing at emergency workers has reached the point where the Crown Prosecution Service is ready to up the ante in charging them, according to the BBC.
“Emergency workers are more essential than ever as society comes together to tackle the coronavirus pandemic,” Max Hill, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said.
“I am therefore appalled by reports of police officers and other frontline workers being deliberately coughed at by people claiming to have COVID-19,” he added.
“Let me be very clear: this is a crime and needs to stop. The Crown Prosecution Service stands behind emergency and essential workers and will not hesitate to prosecute anybody who threatens them as they go about their vital duties.”
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