Jahangir Lolabi
Kupwara, Jun 2 (GNS): A 55-year-old coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patient escaped from an isolation facility set up by the authorities at Putushahi area in this north Kashmir district last night, official sources said on Tuesday.
However, he was caught before he could enter his home and brought back by the officials during the night.
Nodal officer Lolab Aijaz Ahmad when contacted told GNS that the man, a labourer by professional, was placed under quarantine on May 16 and his swab sample returned positive for the disease on May 29 when he was shifted to the isolation facility.
“He escaped last night and was apprehended from Wadipora. We are inquiring why and how he escaped,” he said. Wadipora and Putushahi areas are almost 20 kilometres apart, local sources said.
A resident of Yamlar area, around 4 kilometres from Wadipora, the place where was caught, the man had returned from Lakhanpur. CMO Kupwara, Dr. Kounsar also confirmed the incident.
“The patient who escaped the centre has been retrieved now. We are ascertaining details as to how he managed to come out of the (isolation) centre and other allied issues,” the CMO said. (GNS)