3 Covid patients flee govt hospital in Ongole

NELLORE, AUG. 13

The string of bad luck continues at the Government General Hospital at Ongole in Prakasam district, with three Covid-19 patients escaping on Thursday.

While a patient died by suicide on Sunday night, dogs ate the nose and ears of the abandoned dead body of a Coronavirus patient the next day. Inquiries are going on into both the incidents.

On Thursday, the patients escaped from Block No 215 of the hospital. While two patients are close relatives belonging to Ankireddypalem in Racharla mandal of Prakasam district, the third belongs to Chimakurthy.

All of them were admitted on Tuesday.

The wife of the man from Chimakuthy was admitted in the hospital along with him after they tested positive to Covid. His wife is still in hospital and he left his mobile with her. Police led by Ongole One Town circle inspector Bheema Nayak launched a search after hospital authorities lodged a complaint.

One of the two patients belonging to Racharla mandal answered the mobile and said they were going home as they don’t have Covid symptoms. Aghast at the reply, police threatened to book them and their relatives if they fail to return to GGH. The fear is that the patients could infect more people.

The police managed to trace the details and mobile number of the driver of the autorickshaw in which the patients were returning home, and warned him with dire consequences if he took them home.

In addition to this, Bheema Nayak alerted the SI of Podili to stop the autorickshaw and send it back to the GGH. The SI stopped it and deputed a constable to follow it back.

GGH officials said they cannot blame anyone for the escape of the patients as the staff is overloaded with work.

“The staff can handle hardly 500 patients but there are more than 900 patients. Even the security is no match for the heavy inflow of patients. Nobody expects patients to leave the hospital before discharge,” a senior official said.