‘Drunk’ British tourist, 43, is arrested ‘after coughing on people and telling them he had coronavirus’ in Mallorca
- British man, 43, accosted restaurant diners in a posh neighbourhood of Palma
- The unmasked man was coughing on people and telling them he had coronavirus
- Police arrested him and gave him a virus test, which has come back negative
A British tourist has been arrested after allegedly coughing on restaurant diners in a trendy area of the Majorcan capital Palma and telling them he had coronavirus.
The 43-year-old was detained around 11pm on Monday night after several diners called police to say he was wandering between tables and coughing on people.
When the restaurant manager told the man, who was not wearing a mask, to leave the customers alone he was also coughed on, according to police.
A 43-year-old British man was arrested in Palma (pictured) on Monday night after allegedly coughing on people and telling them he had coronavirus
Officers then arrived in the Santa Catalina area – one of Palma’s most sought-after neighbourhoods filled with bars and cafes – and tried to arrest the man.
He tried to flee, and when officers caught him he resisted arrest and had to be restrained.
The man was taken to the police station where he was given a coronavirus test which came back negative.
Had he tested positive he could have been charged with causing bodily harm and violating health laws, but instead is facing a charge of resisting arrest.
National Police in the Majorcan capital Palma said in a statement: ‘The suspect was arrested for a crime of disobedience and resisting arrest.
‘We were alerted around 11pm on Monday that a man had been walking around different bars and restaurants in Palma’s Santa Catalina neighbourhood, in a drunken state, insulting people without a face mask on and allegedly coughing deliberately over diners while telling them he had Covid-19.
‘The individual we held disobeyed officers when they arrived and was aggressive towards them. He was subsequently arrested.’
Masks have been mandatory in Mallorca since Monday with people facing fines of £90 for refusing to comply as authorities try to slow the spread of coronavirus (file image)
A well-placed source added: ‘He was tested for Covid-19 because he was claiming he had the virus.
‘The test has come back negative. He was held for resisting arrest but would have faced further charges if he had tested positive.
‘They would have been a public health offence and a crime of wounding if he had been found to have infected others with coronavirus as a result of his actions.’
The Brit, who has not been named, was staying at a hotel in the municipality of Calvia which includes the party resort of Magaluf.
The police source said: ‘He was alone when he was held and had been drinking.
‘His behaviour appears to have been fuelled by excess alcohol.’
While Spain has been one of the hardest-hit countries with coronavirus, the Balearic Islands – Mallorca among them – have been spared the worst of the disease.
Nevertheless, masks were made mandatory in all public spaces on the islands from Monday in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease, amid fears that hotspots could be caused by tourists.
Once the global epicentre of the virus, Spain now has 256,000 infections and more than 28,000 deaths.