The suspect appeared to be intoxicated when the incident occurred. The train had to be taken off service to be disinfected.
The video shows how he removes his face mask before licking his hand and rubbing it along the bar of the subway train. Social media users reacted with outrage to the footage.
Brussels’s public transport provider took to Twitter shortly after the incident to announce that the man had been arrested. “The man (intoxicated) was arrested by the police and our security service. The subway train was withdrawn from service to be disinfected,” they explained. They added that the trains are cleaned every day.
Belgium has recorded its first death from the novel coronavirus strain that is sweeping the globe, health officials said Wednesday.
