A man has been arrested for allegedly coughing on a police officer who was responding to an incident in Bulwell near Nottingham.
It comes as emergency workers around the country continue to be assaulted by being coughed on amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Nottinghamshire Police said a 37-year-old man has been arrested in the early hours of Saturday.
"It is alleged that the man suggested that he had contracted coronavirus before then coughing upon a police officer," the force said in a statement.
Detective Chief Inspector Rich Bull said: "Violence against anyone is abhorrent but targeting key workers who are the very people on the front line of dealing with the coronavirus outbreak is a particularly mindless act."
He continued that it "puts not only those individuals at risk but also their families too."
