Man attacked and thrown off bus by group of strangers for coughing

A video has emerged of a man coughing on a bus in Lviv, Ukraine, and the subsequent few minutes are a harrowing watch.

The other passengers are seen to be grabbing and kicking him, and using their feet to haul him off the bus, which is stopped with its doors open. Once the man has been kicked off, one of the aggressors also appears to fall off the bus, and the fight looks like it continues outside while the remaining bus passengers block the door.

The video looks like it was filmed and posted on YouTube by a fellow passenger, although the rest of the bus seemed to go along with the attack, or at least did not intervene.

While it's unclear exactly when this video was filmed, the past weeks have seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in Ukraine. On 22 March there were 73 confirmed cases, with 345 people testing positive in the subsequent seven days.

Ukraine – which is about the size of Texas – has been in de facto coronavirus lockdown, along with the rest of Europe, since 17 March.

This is just one in a series of incidents around the world in which people are abused and attacked (often on public transport) due to coronavirus fears which are entirely unfounded.

It's a worrying glimpse into the collective psyche, which is stigmatising anyone who for any reason appears as though they may have coronavirus, and seems to endorse a violent mob mentality.

In case it bears repeating, not everyone who has a cough will have Covid-19, and no one – coronavirus or not – deserves to be attacked by a group of strangers on a bus.

The best way to remain safe is to stay home as much as possible, avoid public transport and wash hands regularly.