Officials in Cuttack, Odisha, were filled with anxiety on Thursday night when an Irish national, purportedly showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, sneaked out of a hospital in the city.
According to reports, the Irish national showed symptoms of coronavirus when he was screened at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, where he arrived on Thursday.
The Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar then referred the Irish national to the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for undergoing detailed tests.
Odisha TV quoted Bhubananda Maharana, an official at S.C.B. Hospital as saying, "A foreign national, along with his colleague, had come from Capital Hospital to S.C.B. Hospital around 8.30pm 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." The hospital informed the police shortly afterwards.
The Irish man was found at a hotel in Bhubaneswar on Friday. Interestingly, Ashok Patnaik, director of Capital Hospital, told Odisha TV the Irish man had not "escaped".
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“The man was suffering from cold and had come to Capital Hospital for consultation... I suppose when the S.C.B. doctors asked him to get admitted for treatment, he might have become scared and came back to his hotel without informing the hospital authorities,” stated Patnaik. Patnaik added samples from the Irish national would be tested for coronavirus and his contacts would also be traced.
Sudhanshu Sarangi, the police commissioner of Bhubaneswar tweeted the "The concerned Irish national is in a private hotel in Bhubaneswar & the health authorities are in touch with him".
