U.K. urges restaurant patrons to wash clothes after Russian ex-spy poisoning Police issued advice for anyone who visited the Salisbury restaurant and pub where Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned on March 4.

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A large-scale police investigation is underway in Salisbury at the restaurant and bar where Skripal and his daughter were likely poisoned.
A large-scale police investigation is underway in Salisbury at the restaurant and bar where Skripal and his daughter were likely poisoned.  (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

LONDON—British health authorities said Sunday that small traces of contamination have been found in a restaurant and a pub in the English city of Salisbury, after a Russian ex-spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent.

The risk to public health remains low, but there are concerns that the risk could build if people are repeatedly exposed to tiny trace quantities of the nerve agent, Dr. Jenny Harries of Public Health England told a news conference.

She said that people who were in the restaurant and pub on March 4 and March 5 should take “simple” precautions by washing their clothes and taking other measures to protect their skin from repeated exposure.

“This is just very practical advice” that should affect only a few hundred people, she said, adding that there is no proof people actually have trace elements of the nerve agent on their clothes.

Harries said the announcement of these precautions doesn’t mean the risk level to the public has been raised.

She was speaking shortly after Public Health England issued a statement with advice and precautions that should be taken. It was the first time British officials have urged the public to take specific actions as a result of the attack.

She deflected questions about why it took a week for health authorities to come out with the precautionary advice.

“It’s really important to understand the general public should not be concerned,” she said. “There is, on the evidence currently, a very low risk.”

Source:thestar.com