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Escaped coronavirus patient returned to Moscow hospital — source

According to the source, the woman stayed at home after the escape

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. A woman with coronavirus infection suspicion, who escaped a hospital in Moscow’s Kommunarka, has been apprehended and returned to the hospital, a law enforcement source told TASS Monday.

"A woman with suspected coronavirus escaped a hospital in Kommunarka. She has been apprehended and returned back for treatment," the source said, adding that the woman has been apprehended by law enforcement officers.

According to the source, the woman stayed at home after the escape. The people she contacted are being determined.

On March 5, Moscow hospitals, clinics, utilities, transportation and other services went into heightened readiness mode. People coming from countries with bad epidemiological situation must remain in home isolation. People with respiratory disease symptoms are instructed to summon doctors to their homes.

Moscow authorities have acknowledged the coronavirus spread as unpreventable emergency.

The outbreak of a disease caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was registered in central China in late December 2019. The World Health Organization recognized the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic on March 11. Outside China, the worst affected countries are Italy, South Korea and Iran. Overall, more than 130 countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. The WHO says that the novel coronavirus cases globally have exceeded 153,000, with more than 5,700 deaths (over 3,200 in China). A total of 63 coronavirus cases have been registered in Russia. A national coordination council to combat virus spread was set up on March 14.