KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — A homeless man who escaped from a public health clinic yesterday after exhibiting symptoms suggesting a Covid-19 infection has turned himself in and is currently under medical quarantine at Hospital Sungai Buloh, said the police.
Shah Alam district deputy police chief Supt Ramsay Anak Embol told Malay Mail that police were informed by the clinic that the man showed up voluntarily at the clinic at around 11.30am this morning.
“After he showed up at the clinic, the medical staff took him to Hospital Sungai Buloh where he is said to be under quarantine now,” said Ramsay.
The government nominated 12 hospitals nationwide to handle Covid-19 patients, Hospital Sungai Buloh has been designated as the main treatment facility to handle the outbreak with a total capacity of 772 beds.
Ramsay stressed that there was no reason for the public to panic unnecessarily, saying this particular incident has been resolved.
“I just want to remind the public that there is no reason to panic,” he said.
This after Ramsay earlier confirmed with Malay Mail that the patient had escaped from the health centre in Bukit Naga, Shah Alam, yesterday afternoon after he was placed in a separate tent for isolation.
The man was diagnosed with a high fever while showing suspected signs of the Covid-19 infection, with doctors then deciding to isolate him before further action.
Ramsay had earlier clarified that the patient was not yet quarantined or detained by the health centre at the point he escaped.
A police report lodged by a doctor from the clinic noted that the missing patient had attended the “ijtimak tabligh” gathering at the Jamek Sri Petaling Mosque in Kuala Lumpur between February 28 and March 1.
Phone calls were made to the homeless man, who initially promised to return to the clinic, but further attempts to contact him failed before he appeared at the clinic this morning.
The three-day “ijtimak tabligh” was attended by a crowd of around 16,000 people from around the region, 14,500 of which were Malaysians.
Locally, the attendees have been tracked to Negri Sembilan, Johor, Pahang, and Sabah.
Internationally, the event has already been confirmed to be the source of Brunei’s first confirmed Covid-19 infection, which has now spiraled to 25 cases in a matter of days.
