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Four COVID-19-positive detainees escape from hospital isolation
The inmates, identified by their initials HM, MW, IT and M, fled the health facility by breaking the iron bars of the room they were in on Wednesday.
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Four Jayapura Police detainees who were in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 have escaped from the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Jayapura, Papua. (Shutterstock/Dan Henson)
Four Jayapura Police detainees who were in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 have escaped from the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Jayapura, Papua.
The inmates, identified by their initials HM, MW, IT and M, fled the health facility by breaking the iron bars of the room they were in on Wednesday.
Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comm. AM. Kamal said the detainees took advantage of heavy rain to make their escape.
Hospital staff discovered the breakout after entering the isolation room to offer the detainees a meal. They found it empty.
“It is very unfortunate that these inmates escaped from quarantine because they could transmit the virus to other people,” Kamal said.
The police are pursuing the escaped detainees. They have urged the public, including the detainees' relatives, to report to the police if they have any information about the whereabouts of the escapees.
The Jayapura COVID-19 task force reported last month that COVID-19 rapid tests had shown 40 detainees to be positive for the virus. Of the figure, 11 were officially declared positive after undergoing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
Twenty detainees were subsequently admitted to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital, 16 to Marthen Indey Hospital and the rest to the Navy Hospital.
Jayapura Police personnel will be tested for COVID-19. (dpk)
