British Muslim family coughed on in racist attack as coronavirus infections soar
British Muslim family coughed on in racist attack as coronavirus infections soar
A British-Asian family said they were singled out and subject to a coughing attack while out shopping in Leeds, just days before the city went into lockdown.
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The assault happened in central Leeds [Getty]
A man in Leeds targeted a Muslim family telling them "there you go" and coughing on them, just days before the city went into lockdown to combat soaring coronavirus infections.
The assault on the family, including a pregnant mother, her husband and their son, occured on 21 September 21, said Islamophobia watchdog Tell MAMA, who have reported the incident to the police on behalf of the family.
The family, who have chosen to remain anonymous, told the watchdog that the man singled them out from afar before stopping to cough on them.
They assumed their South Asian ethnicity and religious clothing had led to them being targeted.
Fortunately, they reported not showing any coronavirus symptoms.
They described the perpetrator as white and in his mid-to-late forties or early fifties, adding that he carried a bottle of what they believed to be alcohol.
A day after the attack, rates of Covid-19 were found to have risen to 108 cases per 100,000 people, up from 32.5 earlier that month.
Read also: British Muslim medics face 'shocking Islamophobia' from patients
Tell Mama has recorded a string of Islamophobic attacks related to the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, a man approached a hijab-wearing Muslim woman and coughed in her face, before telling her he had the virus and racially abusing her.
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