A patient suspected with MERS caused panic by fleeing the hospital despite strict isolation orders. According to Gangnam Community Health Centre on June 14th, a patient was suspected to have been infected following his visit to Samsung Medical Centre last May 27th. The patient was revealed to have shown symptoms of fever, nausea, cough and sputum last week, but was only reported on June 12th.
The patient was readmitted and put on isolation precaution as they took sputum samples to confirm the diagnosis. However, during the procedure, the patient was quoted saying, “If I have MERS, I will spread it all around,” causing panic. The doctors who were near the patient were also put on isolation following the incident.
The patient refused to follow protocol and left the hospital despite pending results. The patient was confirmed for the suspected infection after the first round of samples.
The patient was eventually traced through family members and was admitted to Seoul Medical Centre with the same confirmed results. The health centre is currently tracking his previous whereabouts through CCTV to further prevent the spread and isolate those whom the patient may have had contact with.
Source: KoreaHerald
