Patient flees Zimbabwe hospital before coronavirus test can be carried out

Patient flees Zimbabwe hospital before coronavirus test can be carried out

A man who was due to undergo coronavirus test "absconded" from a Zimbabwe hospital, the country's health ministry said.

The 26-year-old patient returned from Thailand late February and was admitted at the Wilkins Infectious Disease Hospital on March 8 after he reported symptoms such as sneezing, fever, and cough, the ministry said.

His medical condition did not meet the WHO case-mdefinition for coronavirus such as acute respiratory illness, but health officials wanted to test him as part of surveillance procedures before he ran away from the hospital on Monday, Zimbabwe's health ministry said in a statement.

The health ministry has reported the matter to the police and also sent officials to his home.

Zimbabwe has not recorded a case of the coronavirus virus.

Read Also: Coronavirus: Health minister Nadine Dorries tests positive


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