Fleeing Osun COVID-19 Patient Nabbed By Police

Fleeing Osun COVID-19 patient has been nabbed by the police in the southwest state.

Newsone Nigeria reports that the Osun State government announced on Saturday afternoon, April 4 that the fleeing COVID-19 patient has been found.

Ismail Omipidan, the Chief Press Secretary to the Osun State Governor, who confirmed this, said the coronavirus patient has been apprehended by the police and returned to the Isolation facility in Ejigbo, area of the State.

According to Omipidan, the fleeing COVID-19 patient, a woman, was apprehended by the police in Ejigbo town and returned to the facility this afternoon.

Earlier today, the Osun State denied reports that six persons who tested positive for coronavirus escaped from one of the isolation centres in the state. The Osun State Commissioner for information, Funke Egbemode, in a statement, said a headcount which was conducted on Saturday morning, showed that only one person could not be accounted for.

The development came after the 127 returnees from Ivory Coast had been isolated while 22 of them tested positive for coronavirus. There were reports that six of them escaped from the isolation centre.

However, the Osun State Commissioner for information issued a statement, asking the public to disregard news making the rounds that six people had escaped from isolation.

“Our attention has been drawn to a story purporting that six persons were missing from our Isolation centre in Ejigbo. One of the writers quoted a non-existent statement from the government to lend some measure of credibility to the story,” the statement read.

“Nothing can be further from the truth. As a government, we have not issued any statement to confirm or deny such story. Besides, a quick check showed that the name and number of the first person on the list of the purported missing patients is indeed currently in our facility in Ejigbo.

“Recall that about a week ago, we received 127 returnees from Ivory Coast and we have kept them since then to avoid community transfer of the virus.

“This morning we embarked on a headcount and found out that only one person could not be accounted for by officials stationed at the Isolation centre out of the 127 persons. The State Government is currently investigating the matter and will ensure that the missing person is brought back to the Isolation centre and we will also ensure we trace all his contacts.

“We implore members of the public to discountenance the alarm being raised. We will continue to do everything to protect the lives of our citizens in this fight against Coronavirus,” she said.