By Andrew Mkonda
Karonga, April 12, Mana: A 27-year-old man who tested positive to coronavirus two weeks ago in Karonga district and was put in a quarantine center unit at Karonga district hospital has escaped from the facility to unknown place.
According to a report released by the Karonga district hospital officials and was made available to Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday, the patient escaped from the quarantine center unit on Saturday and he is still at large.
“Our findings show that the person arrived at Lasha village in the district where he was staying with her sister and the people thought he had been officially discharged. One of the relatives claimed that an unknown person had gone to the quarantine center unit around mind night on Friday.
“When he arrived home he shouted lots of insults at the relatives claiming that there was no reason the hospital was keeping him there yet he was not sick. He said that the one who was shouting had alleged that people had been bribed to doctor positive laboratory results,” reads part of the report.
Karonga District Hospital had put the person in quarantine center unit on April 26, 2020 following confirmation of covid-19 status.
The person had been staying in Dares salaam (Tanzania) for over 1 year and eight months but his original home is in Chatupa village in the area of Traditional Authority Malanda in the district.
Speaking in separate interview, Karonga Police Station Officer-In-Charge Sam Nkhwazi said police is doing all it can to find this person knowing that wherever he goes he will infect other people.
Nkhwazi said that they have already alerted their colleagues in Nkhata-Bay in case the person may think of going there.
“It’s unfortunate that some people are not taking this disease seriously. Coronavirus is real and there is need to adhere to preventive measures given by the doctors,” he said.
The person entered the country through uncharted route on April 20,2020 when he was captured by security agents on covid-19 patrols close to Songwe border.
Malawi has registered 58 cases of coronavirus with three deaths, according to Minister of Health Jappie Mhango.
I can’t blame the patient for escaping, the isolation centres are just a tool for the govt to scare people and ask for funds from donors..
I have a relative in isolation at the quarantine centre in Blantyre. And I want the Malawi public to know what is happening in our country, God knows for what purpose…
My relative started feeling malaria symptoms somewhere in Mozambique on his way back from SA.
He bought LA at one of the shops in Mozambique and took it, he went through all the temperature checks as he passed through the Mozambique and Malawi border with no issues.
When he got to Blantyre the malaria symptoms persisted and he had also started coughing at this point, so after a few days he went to hospital to get checked out.
At the hospital upon hearing that he had just come back fro SA and had a fever and a cough, automatically they alleged that he has coronavirus.
He was showered with all sorts of insults by the medical personnel and asked to wait somewhere in a secluded area for the covid medical team to arrive.
The covid team indeed arrived in no time in full PPE gear and took a test sample from him and told him that they were taking him to a quarantine centre to put him in isolation.
After some resistance he obliged and that is where the whole conundrum started to unfold.
Up until 3 days ago thus after 10 days of being in isolation, my relative had not been told the test results but the following day after being put in isolation Jaipe Mhango had already made the announcement that this relative of mine had tested positive.
At the isolation centre he is not provided with any medication or food……relatives have to deliver food at the gate of the quarantine centre once a day after which one of the medics as and when is available will then give it to him, sometimes when the food is completely cold.
One wonders why the covid committee and the medical personnel are getting covid-19 allowances when the so called patients are just dumped in the isolation centres with no medical care.
Just three days ago he was asked to provide another sample so that they can check if he has TB because the initial coronavirus test was negative, they are telling him this now and yet the minister had already announced to the public a couple of weeks ago that he tested positive…..what the fuck is going on in our country.
Now it has been three days that my relative has the bottles filled up with the specimen but no medical personnel has come to correct it and yet they are claiming daily covid allowances that they are looking after covid patients….our country is so fucked up to the point that everyone is shafting somebody for personal gains.
Where is the covid money going if the so called patients you are locking up in quarantine centres are not given any medication, or any form of medical care or food.
So the only reason the govt is putting people in quarantine centres is just to help their coarse in begging money from the outside world so They can build more personal houses with swimming pools.
And of course to scare ordinary Malawians away from voting in the July elections…my Humble prayer Is that all those who are taking advantage of this global pandemic to make money for personal gain should catch the coronavirus themselves….