A 57-year-old man who coughed on staff and claimed he had COVID-19 has been arrested by police in the UK.
The incident occurred in a high street store in the small industrial town of Dudley in the West Midlands.
Shoppers reported they saw the male coughing on staff members when confronted over suspected shoplifting.
The individual proceeded to falsely claim he had contracted the COVID-19 virus.
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The man was taken into custody under suspicion of assault and theft by West Midlands Police for questioning.
The incident comes after news that the virus has claimed 139 lives in the UK.
