London transit worker dies after man claiming to have COVID-19 spit on her, family says
The coronavirus has claimed the life of a British railway worker allegedly spat on by a man earlier this year.
Now, Belly Mujinga’s family is demanding justice and raising poignant questions about the safety of essential employees during the pandemic.
Mujinga, 47, was working on the concourse at Victoria Station in London on March 22 when she and a colleague were assaulted by a man who claimed to have the coronavirus, according to The Guardian. The man reportedly spat and coughed in their faces before taking off.
Within days, both women fell sick with the virus.
British Transport Police have since launched an investigation to find the accused spitter, BBC News reported.
The victim’s husband, Lusamba Gode Katalay, told the outlet that his wife and her co-worker were approached by the man who demanded to know what they were doing and why they were there.
“[Mujinga] told him she was working, and the man said he had the virus and spat on her,” Katalay said.
Mujinga, who had underlying health issues, was hospitalized at Barnet Hospital on April 2, according to BBC News. She was placed on a ventilator but died three days later on April 5.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) union confirmed the ticket worker’s death and reported the alleged incident to the Railway Inspectorate for further investigation, The Guardian reported. The general secretary for the union, Manual Cortes, said he was “shocked and devastated” by news of Mujinga’s death.
“She is one of far too many frontline workers who have lost their lives to coronavirus,” Cortes said.
Relatives allege Mujinga’s employer, Govia Thameslink Railway, was aware of her respiratory issues but sent her out on the concourse anyway. In a statement to BBC News, Angie Doll, the managing director of GTR subsidiary Southern Railway and Gatwick Express, said it takes “any allegations extremely seriously, and we are investigating these claims.”
The incident has raised concerns about worker safety amid the pandemic that, as of Tuesday, has infected more than 227,000 across the United Kingdom and 4 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. Mujinga’s family told the UK outlet Sky News that she and her colleague begged not to be sent to work with the masses.
They wished to remain in the ticket office but were denied. Relatives said it didn’t help that Mujinga and other workers weren’t provided personal protective equipment, putting them at increased risk of contracting the virus.
“They weren’t given masks, or gloves, so they were exposed to everyone,” her husband told Sky News.
Mujinga’s cousin Agnes Ntumba echoed these same concerns to The Guardian, arguing her loved one should’ve never been sent to work on the concourse without protective equipment.
“We want justice for Belly,” Ntumba told the newspaper. “They need to find the person who did it. And the company should compensate the family.”
Doll of GTR told the BBC that “the safety of our customers and staff, who are key workers themselves, continues to be front of mind at all times and we follow the latest government advice.”
Katalay and and the couple’s 11-year-old daughter, Ingrid, were among just 10 people who attended Majinga’s funeral, according to the Guardian.
“She was a good person, a good mother, and a good wife,” Majinga’s husband told BBC News. “She was a caring person and would take care of everybody.”