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Haitian authorities searching for COVID-positive persons who fled hospital

Published:Monday | April 27, 2020 | 10:23 AM

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Haitian health authorities Monday appealed to five people who tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) and fled a hospital on Sunday.

The Departmental Director of the Center Department of the Ministry of Public Health, Dr Denis Jean, confirmed that the five people fled from the Sainte Thérèse de Hinche hospital, built in the 1930s by US Marines.

“If we do not quickly find these people they risk infecting a lot of people,” he warned.

Last week, a Haitian national, who had been deported from the United States, and who tested positive for the virus that has killed more than 200,000 people worldwide, fled from an isolation centre.

Secretary of State for Communication, Eddy Jackson Alexis, said that the escapee poses a threat to national security.

Haitian health officials have said that six people have died since the virus was first detected on March 19, and that the number of active cases now stands at 60.

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