Owing to pressure from fellow villagers, friends and relatives, a person with suspected COVID-19 infection who had escaped from the MKCG medical college and hospital in Berhampur on March 15, returned to the hospital to get admitted again.
In a similar incident, another person admitted in the isolation ward of the Kandhamal District Headquarter Hospital (DHH) in Phulbani escaped on Monday. A search was launched after the Additional District Medical Officer (ADMO) of Kandhamal lodged a complaint with the police.
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This person from Baliguda area of Kandhamal district had recently returned from Kerala. As he had developed symptoms of cough and cold, he had been admitted to the hospital on Sunday. According to medical sources, he is yet to be confirmed for infection.
The superintendent of the MKCG medical college and hospital had also registered a police complaint in Berhampur on Sunday regarding the escape. But around midnight, the 24-year-old of Puri district returned on a bike. He returned from a Gulf country recently.
On March 14, he had been admitted to the hospital for suspected infection. His throat swab was sent to the RMRC, Bhubaneswar. But for some reason he escaped from the isolation ward. According to sources, he was compelled to return after a few hours as his fellow villagers and the near and dear were not ready to accept him without confirmation that he was not infected.
Published - March 17, 2020 05:00 am IST
