COVID-19 CRISIS: Suspected Coronavirus patient arrested after escaping from quarantine

KAMPALA – Charles Okello, a suspected COVID-19 patient who escaped from Gulu Regional Referral Hospital on Wednesday, April 2, was later found in Omoro district.

Okello claims that he was not being fed for three days, part of the reasons why he escaped.

Okello escaped while his room was being cleaned.

He was quarantined on the 30th March 2020 at Lanenober Health centre III in Omoro District before being transferred to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital.

His samples was taken to Entebbe for testing and results came out Negative. But above all Okello is supposed to be in quarantine for the next 14 days.

The government put all passengers, who arrived in Uganda from countries with high cases of Coronavirus into institutional quarantine for at least 14 days. But many of the quarantine people escape with the help of high profile persons or by paying bribes to security agents or other government officials protecting the hotel in Entebbe.

Some people under quarantine allege that they witnessed bribery of officials by their colleagues to allow them leave the quarantine.

More than 20 people including Chinese and Ugandans, who escaped from the quarantine have been arrested. At least two of them have tested positive of Coronavirus.

Six escapees were arrested in Nyendo, Masaka District, six in Zombo District and more than 10 in Kampala City. Six Chinese, two of them are positive of the Coronavirus, arrested in Zombo District, are facing charges ofnegligent act likely to spread infection of disease. The six that were found in Nyeno has been taken back to Entebbe to be quarantined.

According to Section 171 of the Penal Cod Act, “any person who unlawfully or negligently does any act which is and which he or she knows or has reason to believe to be likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for seven years”.

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