A patient at one of Nottingham's hospitals has been sentenced after he deliberately coughed in the face of a nurse and claimed he had coronavirus.
The incident happened on March 26 at around 6.30am after Mark Payne was asked repeatedly to cover his mouth.
The 45-year-old, of no fixed address, was arrested, charged and remanded in custody on April 1.
He appeared at Nottingham Magistrates' Court on April 9 where he was given a 10 week prison sentence, suspended for six months.
He was charged with common assault of an emergency worker under the Emergency Workers Act and pleaded guilty.
Inspector Christine Busuttil said: "Nottinghamshire Police takes assaults on emergency services workers extremely seriously and protecting the health of front line NHS staff is extremely important during the current coronavirus pandemic."
