Irishman who fled Odisha coronavirus quarantine facility tracked to hotel

An Irishman, who recently fled from a coronavirus quarantine facility in a government hospital in Odisha, was found in a hotel in the state capital on Friday (March 6).

According to reports, while landing in Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, the Ireland national reportedly had high fever. Later, he was immediately rushed to the nearby hospital for a mandatory thermal scanning, where officials suspected him of carrying the virus.

Since the patient was suspected with the deadly disease, he was kept in isolation at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack along with another person who accompanied him.

Later, he went missing, and the hospital authorities had registered a complaint with the local police officials.

B. Maharana, an emergency official in SCB Medical College stated that the patient went missing after the hospital decided to keep him in the isolation ward.

“A foreign national along with his colleague had come from Capital Hospital to SCB Hospital at around 8.30 pm yesterday. The foreigner’s colleague consulted the doctors at pulmonary medicine department following which he was asked to immediately admit the Irish man for diagnosis. Accordingly, the attendant went downstairs to bring the Irish national but when they did not return for long, the doctors intimated the matter to concerned authorities. Later, a complaint was also lodged at the police station,” Odisha post quoted Maharana as saying.

On the other hand, Capital Hospital Director Ashok Patnaik refuted the reports of the Irish national’s escapade and clarified he refused to get admitted in SCB and returned to Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, news reports claimed that a couple from UP had arrived at Paradip port in a Singapore ship and were suspected of infection have tested negative.

In another 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 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. Odisha health minister Naba Kishore Das has urged Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan to set up a coronavirus testing laboratory at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

(With inputs from agencies)