Gujarat COVID-19 patient escapes from isolation ward, found dead

A 50-year-old coronavirus patient, who allegedly ran away from the COVID ward of a civil hospital in Gujarat's Surat city two days back, was found dead on a bench outside the medical facility on Thursday morning, police said.

A probe is underway into the matter, they said.

Preliminary inquiry and CCTV footage of the hospital indicate that the man did not go outside the hospital campus, located in Khatodara area, during the last two days, an official from Khatodara police station said.

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The official further said the man "secretly" walked out of the COVID ward on the night of April 28 and disappeared.

Though the police tried to search for him at every possible location, he was not found, the official said.

"As of now, we don't know why he ran away in the middle of his treatment, where he went and how he died. We are carrying out a thorough investigation into it," Deputy Commissioner of Police Vidhi Chaudhari said.

As per the civil hospital records, the man was a resident of Salabatpura area and got admitted to the hospital on April 21 after he tested positive for coronavirus.

Before that, his wife had also tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to the same hospital, another official said, adding that she is currently undergoing treatment at the medical facility.