A lady, who fled Imo after testing positive for coronavirus has been arrested at Oja Oba (King’s market) in Akure, Ondo State.
Commissioner for Health, Wahab Adegbenro, said after her escape, both Imo and Ondo governments launched a manhunt and she was eventually found. The commissioner said she was caught selling second hand wares inside the market.
He, however, lamented over community transmission and appealed to residents to cooperate with the government by observing the safety protocols listed by regulatory agencies in order to contain the spread of the virus.
The patient was found one day after the Imo State task force on prevention and control of COVID-19, raised the alarm that 25 persons, who tested positive for the disease in the state, had escaped.
A member of the task force, Vitus Ekeocha, who is also the state director of the National Orientation Agency, disclosed this during an interaction with newsmen.
He said 96 travellers, who disregarded the ban on interstate travel, were intercepted during their journey from Imo to Delta, Rivers, Abia, Anambra, Lagos and other South West states.
He said after their samples were tested and results returned positive for COVID-19, they escaped.
Ekeocha said the identities and contacts of the escapees had been sent to the state governments and relevant agencies of the areas they were travelling to track them.
According to him, before the results came out, the patients had allegedly been released by the security operatives to continue their journey, not minding the implications.