Chaos in courtroom as alleged criminal fakes having coronavirus

A woman sent a court into chaos after she interrupted proceedings claiming she feared she’d been infected with the coronavirus.

A woman sent a courtroom into chaos by claiming she’d been infected with the coronavirus — and is now facing criminal charges, according to a report.

Celia Hill, 34, from Arkansas in the US, was appearing on drug charges in Mayflower District Court on Wednesday when she allegedly said she suspected she had the deadly illness, news station KATV reported.

She claimed she had recently travelled and had contact with an infected patient and had a fever of 38.9 degrees.

Celia Hill said she felt like she'd been infected with coronavirus while in court.

The entire courthouse was swiftly evacuated by authorities and Ms Hill was taken out on a stretcher to an ambulance, the outlet said.

“People were running. There were no walkers,” one witness told the KATV.

The case would have been the first confirmed diagnosis of the coronavirus in Arkansas. The virus has now spread to other parts of the US, and is present in at least 45 other countries.

She was brought to a local hospital, where she tested negative for the virus, officials said.

“As far as we can tell, she lied about having the coronavirus,” David Hogue, Mayflower’s city lawyer, told the outlet.

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The incident has led to more charges against Ms Hill for filing a false report, obstructing governmental operations and contempt of court.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission