Foreign Affairs

UK Man Regains Consciousness After Exposure To Novichok Nerve Agent

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The U.K. man who was exposed to deadly nerve agent Novichok regained consciousness on Tuesday after a week in the hospital in critical condition.

Charlie Rowley, 45, is showing “small but significant improvement,” according to a statement by Salisbury District Hospital, reported BBC.

“Charlie [Rowley] is still very unwell and will continue to require specialist, round-the-clock care,” said hospital nursing director Lorna Wilkinson, reported The Guardian.

Rowley and his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill on June 30 after being exposed to Novichok in Amesbury, England, reported The Guardian. Sturgess died on Sunday.

Rowley and Sturgess came in contact with the same nerve agent used to target an ex-Russian spy and his daughter who were living in Salisbury, which is about eight miles from Amesbury. Sergei and Yulia Skripal fell ill in March and fought the odds against their survival. Both have been discharged from the hospital after the attack thought to have been coordinated by the Russian government.

Residents of Salisbury and Amesbury are advised against picking up “any foreign object which could contain liquid or gel, in the interests of their own safety,” said health official Dame Sally Davies, according to BBC.

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