London: People who were in the restaurant and pub where former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter were believed to have been poisoned last weekend have been advised to wash their clothes and personal items.
Investigators found traces of the nerve agent used to poison Skripal and his daughter in the Italian restaurant Zizzi in the southern English town of Salisbury, Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies confirmed on Sunday.
Public health England advised anyone who visited the restaurant or the Mill pub between 13:30 GMT on March 4 and closing time on March 5 to wash their clothes and wipe “personal items such as phones, handbags and other electronic items with cleansing or baby wipes and dispose of the wipes in the bin.”
“Other items such as jewellery and spectacles which cannot go in the washing machine or be cleaned with cleansing or baby wipes, should be hand washed with warm water and detergent and then rinsed with clean cold water,” a statement issued on Sunday read.
People were advised to put clothes that are normally dry-cleaned in sealed plastic bags and store them safely for further advice.
They should also thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water after cleaning any items.
The estimated 500 people involved were not believed to be in danger, the statement said, adding that the advice was a precautionary measure.
Cordons remain in place at a host of locations across Salisbury,including Skripal’s house and the cemetery where his wife and son are buried, news agency Press Association reported.
Skripal — a former colonel in Russian intelligence who was imprisoned in Russia in 2006 on allegations of spying for Britain — was found unconscious with his daughter on a bench near a shopping centre in Salisbury.
More than 250 officers from Britain’s counter-terrorism units are currently involved in investigating the incident, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said earlier on Saturday after chairing a meeting of the nation’s top-level Cobra emergency committee.
The Skripals’ case has drawn media speculation that Russian state actors could be behind the attack, prompting comparisons to other suspicious deaths of Russians on British soil — specifically Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and Alexander Perepilichny in 2012.
Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, are still fighting for their lives in hospital after being exposed to the toxic substance. Police say that in total, 21 people have received medical treatment following the incident.
— dpa
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