An Irish national, suspected to be carrying the coronavirus, had absconded from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack late on Thursday. The affected person was admitted and was kept in the isolation ward as he was suspected to have been infected with COVID-19.
As per latest reports, the Irish national was later found in a private hotel in Bhubaneswar.
According to the reports, the Ireland national reportedly had high fever running when he landed in Bhubaneswar International Airport and was immediately taken to the hospital for a mandatory thermal scanner screening after officials suspected him of carrying the virus. He was taken to SCB for in-detail testing from where he is said to be missing.
The hospital has lodged a case against the Irish national at the local Mangalapur police station, said emergency official B Maharana of the SCB Medical College. Maharana has stated that the patient went missing after the hospital decided to keep him in the isolation ward.
As per reports, the Irish man was accompanied by another person. In the meanwhile, a couple from UP who had arrived at Paradip port in a Singapore ship and were suspected of infection have tested negative. Odisha authorities have sent another blood sample of a Dubai returned man from Sonepur district. The results are yet to be received.
In a similar incident, a patient from Kerala who was under watch for coronavirus in the isolation ward of the Ernakulam Government Medical College had fled the hospital on March 2. The 25-year-old man, who had arrived at the Kochi International Airport from Thailand, was kept in an isolation ward as he had symptoms of the virus.
However, the patient ran away from the ward without the knowledge of the nurses in the isolation ward. Later, the authorities traced him to Muppathadam near Kochi and directed him to follow the quarantine guidelines. Later in the day, the patient returned to the hospital.
The number of people infected with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has gone up to 30 in India. Apart from three patients, all of them are in hospitals in the National Capital Region (NCR). Two patients are in Jaipur while the other one is quarantined in Hyderabad.
Coronavirus is a deadly respiratory disease which has killed more than 3,110 and so far more than 97,0000 cases are reported globally, according to the World Health Organisation.
The transmission of the virus takes place when someone who is infected comes in contact with another person. According to medical experts, coughing, sneezing or even shaking hands with an infected person can cause exposure.
The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. Outside China, 1848 cases were reported in 48 countries. 80 per cent of those cases are from just three countries: the Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Italy.
As per latest reports, Capital Hospital director Ashok Patnaik has stated that the report of escapade is wrong. He has told media persons that the concerned Irish national was was unwilling to get admitted into SCB Medical College and has returned to Bhubaneswar.
