Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), close to 30 people have been infected and kept in isolation in India, reports Hindustan Times.
But causing uncertainty one such patient – a citizen of Ireland – reportedly fled from the isolation ward of the government hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack on Thursday, March 5.
The Irish man, who was referred to the isolation ward of the SCB Medical College and Hospital, managed to escape along with another individual who was accompanying him.
Speaking about the incident, a health department official said:
It is not clear how both of them escaped. Once someone is suspected to be infected with coronavirus, he/she has to be kept in isolation. It’s compulsory. We are trying to find out the exact timeline of how it happened. We have lodged a case with Mangalabag police station.
Upon landing at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, the Irish citizen was screened and diagnosed with some flu-like symptoms.
He was later taken to the city’s Capital Hospital after his body temperature was found to be slightly higher than normal. But he managed to sneak out.
According to reports, the Indian government – in their bid to scale up its containment efforts – has kept a close watch on close to 30,000 individuals.
In the absence of a testing lab in Bhubaneswar, the samples of suspected patients are being sent to the Virology Institute in Pune.