A 42-year-old woman has been arrested for spitting on a nurse who was walking to work through Adelaide’s CBD.
According to police, the alleged attacker spat a drink over the nurse who was wearing blue scrubs at the time of the incident at 7.30 am on Tuesday morning
The attacker who has been identified as being homeless was charged with assaulting a prescribed emergency worker and did not apply for bail.
This incident is the latest in a disturbing trend of assaults and aggressive behavior aimed at emergency workers since COVID-19’s arrival on Australian shores.
At the beginning of April this year, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard lambasted the behavior of a small portion of the public after it was revealed that some healthcare workers were being advised not to wear their scrubs or uniforms in public.
This advice came after some nurses at Westmead Hospital in NSW reported being refused service in supermarkets and abused by the public when walking into a petrol station.
Last October, the South Australian Government created new legislation that made the assaulting of an emergency worker a specific offence which carries a maximum penalty of five years jail for basic offences and 15 years jail for causing intentional harm.
Photo Credit – iStock – George-Morris
