California man who coughed on gas pumps in video could be charged, police say

A man accused of coughing on a gas pump handle could be charged, police said in a news release.

The Yuma Police Department in Arizona said on Saturday they started getting reports of a video posted on social media of a man coughing on a fuel pump handle while making references to the coronavirus, according to the release.

Police identified a 23-year-old man from Winterhaven, California, as the person in the video, according to the release. The man doesn’t have any coronavirus symptoms, but police say he could be charged with unlawful use of infectious biological substance, which is a felony in Arizona.

There are over 378,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., including more than 2,500 in Arizona, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

California has issued a shelter-in-place order to try to curb the spread of the virus. Arizona also has a stay-at-home executive order in place through at least April 30.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:36 AM with the headline "California man who coughed on gas pumps in video could be charged, police say."