COLOMBO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lanka Police on Wednesday launched a manhunt to track down a COVID-19 infected patient who had escaped from a hospital on the outskirts of capital Colombo, police said.
According to the police, the patient was being treated for COVID-19 at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital in Ragama after his PCR test conducted Tuesday night confirmed he was infected with the COVID-19.
Local media reported that the hospital had received his results on Wednesday morning, when the patient had escaped.
Police said special teams were deployed to nab the patient as he was last seen entering the Grandpass area in capital Colombo.
The police media unit was quoted by local media as saying that the patient was addicted to drugs which is why he may have escaped the hospital.
Sri Lanka is battling a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases after a new cluster was detected over the weekend in which a 39-year-old female apparel worker and her 16-year-old daughter tested positive for the virus from a Minuwangoda apparel factory on the outskirts of Colombo.
Till last evening, over 800 people had tested positive from this cluster.
The police earlier on Wednesday extended an ongoing curfew in the Gampaha into Seeduwa as well as more patients had tested positive.
Sri Lanka has reported 13 deaths from the virus since March. Enditem
