Coronavirus patient escapes from Prague hospital, captured by police within 30 minutes

Prague, March 19 (CTK) – A patient infected with coronavirus ran away from Prague’s Bulovka hospital today, but was caught by the police in the hospital’s surroundings after half an hour without coming in close contact with any people outside, Prague police spokeswoman Lucie Drabkova told CTK.

The spreading of the virus may be qualified as a crime. Last week, Justice Minister Marie Benesova (for ANO) put COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on the list of diseases whose spreading may be assessed as a crime.

Based on the Criminal Law, the crime of spreading a contagious disease carries up to three years in prison, or even eight years if the state is in danger.

The police were alerted over the patient’s runaway at 16:50. After some 30 minutes, they found the man walking along a street not far from the Bulovka hospital.

“According to preliminary information, the man walked out of the hospital and came into contact with nobody,” the police tweeted later this afternoon.

“A patient with COVID-19 deliberately left Bulovka’s isolation clinic. We alerted the police immediately,” the hospital’s spokeswoman Simona Krautova said, confirming the information.

She said the patient has been hospitalised in Bulovka since March 14.