A coronavirus patient has fled from isolation in one of Hong Kong’s largest hospitals. A manhunt was launched as officials ask the public to help in capturing the fugitive.
The 63-year-old man, known as patient 7379, was isolated in the city’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Monday after having tested positive for Covid-19, local media reported, citing a hospital spokesperson.
At around 5pm local time on Friday, staff spotted the patient trying to leave his ward without permission. The doctors attempted to grab him but he evaded capture by sprinting down the stairs. He has not been seen since.
The hospital immediately contacted the police and is now asking the public to help in bringing the patient back. Officials said he is a local resident with no travel history and a close contact of another confirmed Covid-19 patient.
There have been numerous cases of suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients fleeing quarantine in different countries since the start of the pandemic. In May, a 39-year-old man was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee after jumping a fence while trying to escape from mandatory isolation.
In July, a man in his 50s cut through a nearly 2 meter (6.5 feet) fence and left a quarantine facility on New Zealand’s North Island. In February, a young woman fled from a hospital in Saint Petersburg, Russia by disabling an electric lock in her room. She was later apprehended and quarantined again.
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