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Charlie Rowley, British man poisoned by Novichok nerve agent, released from hospital

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British man poisoned by Novichok nerve agent released from hospital
A British man who was one of two people poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok last month was released from hospital Friday. He and Dawn Sturgess fell ill after being exposed to the same agent that affected former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Sturgess died after her exposure – Jul 21, 2018

Nerve agent victim Charlie Rowley has been released from hospital after three weeks of treatment since being poisoned, U.K. officials said Friday.

Lorna Wilkinson, the director of nursing at Salisbury District Hospital, said Rowley, 45, had been discharged after making substantial progress in recent days.

“Charlie has been through an appalling experience most of us could never imagine,” she said. “Today is a very welcome milestone in his recovery.”

READ MORE: Russian sources offered a wild grab-bag of theories to explain English woman’s nerve agent death

Officials say Rowley and his partner Dawn Sturgess fell ill June 30 after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok when they handled a small bottle containing the nerve agent.

Officials believe the substance was from the same batch used in the March nerve agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

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WATCH: Novichok survivor talks about exposure to agent, memories of Dawn Sturgess

Click to play video: 'Novichok survivor talks about exposure to agent, memories of Dawn Sturgess'
Novichok survivor talks about exposure to agent, memories of Dawn Sturgess

Sturgess, 44, died in the hospital on July 8, eight days after she became violently ill at Rowley’s home in Amesbury in southwestern England.

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Rowley became ill several hours later with similar symptoms.

WATCH: U.K. police search Salisbury park in Novichok poisoning investigation

Click to play video: 'U.K. police search Salisbury park in Novichok poisoning investigation'
U.K. police search Salisbury park in Novichok poisoning investigation

Police initially thought the two had taken contaminated heroin or crack cocaine but tests indicated they were poisoned by Novichok.

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Novichok was produced by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

READ MORE: Here’s how Novichok nerve agent that nearly killed ex-Russian spy may be culprit in recent U.K. poisoning

Britain has blamed Russia for poisoning the spy and his daughter, who both recovered after lengthy hospitalizations, as well as accidentally poisoning Rowley, Sturgess and a police officer who aided the Skripals.

Russia has strongly denied the charges.

READ MORE: British woman dies after exposure to nerve agent in Amesbury, U.K.

The poisoning of the spy ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled from Russia and Western nations.

The second round of nerve agent poisonings put the towns of Amesbury and Salisbury, where Sturgess lived, on edge as more than 100 counterterrorism officers searched for the source of the Novichok.

WATCH: Brother of Novichok victim ‘very surprised’ by Charles Rowley’s release from hospital

Click to play video: 'Brother of Novichok victim ‘very surprised’ by Charles Rowley’s release from hospital'
Brother of Novichok victim ‘very surprised’ by Charles Rowley’s release from hospital

Nursing director Wilkinson said “many people” had come to the hospital concerned about possible exposure to Novichok but that only the five victims already identified had been exposed to the lethal nerve agent.

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She said Public Health England has determined that Rowley “poses no risk to the public” now that he is out of the hospital.

WATCH BELOW: U.K. Defence Secretary says Russia ‘committed an attack’ leading to death of woman from Novichok

Click to play video: 'U.K. Defence Secretary says Russia ‘committed an attack’ leading to death of woman from Novichok'
U.K. Defence Secretary says Russia ‘committed an attack’ leading to death of woman from Novichok

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said police will work with local agencies to make sure Rowley gets the support he needs as he continues to recover.

British officials have taken the Skripals to a secret location for their own protection.

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