A man has been sentenced to six months in prison after he assaulted an NHS doctor working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gareth Rudge, 34, punched the doctor's head and face outside the A&E of the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales in the early hours of Friday morning.
The doctor went back to his shift despite the assault.
Rudge pleaded guilty to assault by beating of an emergency worker on Saturday at Newport Magistrates Court.
PC Sam Louros told the court: “Assaults on emergency service workers should never be tolerated.
“Emergency service personnel come to work to protect and help those in need – not to be assaulted.
PC Louros said that "there can be no excuse" for assaulting emergency workers.
He added: “The doctor is working in the middle of a pandemic, helping those in our society who desperately need medical assistance.
“He was assaulted while carrying out his public duty and continued his shift after the incident, caring for those who require it."
Half of the accident and emergency team at the Royal Gwent Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus, it emerged on Sunday.
The hospital is part of the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, where 1,453 have tested positive for Covid-19 - the biggest in Wales and one of the highest areas in the UK.
Dr Tim Rogerson, a consultant at the hospital, said he had been off work since experiencing "mild to moderate" coronavirus symptoms and that his son has also tested positive for the virus.
"This has obviously happened despite all of the PPE that we've got and all the hand washing that we're doing but it's probably just a likely thing that's going to happen when we're faced with such numbers of patients coming in with coronavirus," he said.
Wales had nearly 5,300 confirmed coronavirus cases by Sunday evening. 369 people had died in hospitals after contracting the virus.
