Novichok poisoning victim released from UK hospital

A man who was poisoned with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok has been released from hospital after being exposed to the substance earlier this month, a hospital official said Friday.

Charlie Rowley, 45, whose partner, Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after exposure to the same substance 12 days ago, poses no contamination risk to the community.

“Both Dawn and Charlie had been poisoned by a powerful nerve agent. As part of the care we gave to Charlie, and the other victims of this nerve agent, we decontaminated them,” Lorna Wilkinson, the director of nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, told the Guardian newspaper.

“We did this both to help them get better and ensure there would be no remaining contamination that could affect them or anyone who came into contact with them,” she added.

“We continue to work closely with Public Health England who have advised that Charlie poses no risk to the community”.

Rowley, however, will remain under police protection as detectives continue their investigation into how the couple came into contact with the nerve agent.

Rowley’s account of how he and Sturgess came into contact with the substance while at his home in Amesbury, Wiltshire will prove vital for detectives working on the case and may even provide evidence that could shed light on the Novichok attack on former Soviet spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March, which is still under investigation.

Rowley and Sturgess were hospitalized after being exposed to the deadly nerve agent on June 30. Police found a bottle containing the nerve agent at the scene. Sturgess succumbed to the poisoning and passed away just over a week ago.