Brazil: coronavirus patient escaped hospital and hid in supermarket

A 46-year-old man diagnosed with coronavirus escaped from hospital Thursday for fear of being intubated and tried to hide in a supermarket in the Brazilian municipality of Cantaduva, in the state of Sao Paulo.

The man was detained shortly after by police in the store, located opposite the hospital. The man was returned by ambulance to the medical center. “We were unable to find out how a patient about to be intubated managed to leave the hospital and enter the supermarket. But we know he was quite panicked by the procedure. “said Commissioner Amauri Cesár Pelarin.

Rumors emerged on social media that the man was spitting and infecting produce on supermarket shelves, but the police delegate denied: “This is totally wrong. The man was scared and tried to hide in the supermarket, but did not attack anyone. It is true that he resisted returning to the hospital “. “I was desperate,” Pelarin added.

According to some local media, the patient exited his bedroom window and then jumped over the bars of the hospital. For its part, the supermarket reported that all the health measures recommended by the authorities have been adopted and that “all products and all facilities have been disinfected as a precaution”.

Brazil, facing the collapse of its health system

Brazil is going through “the biggest health and hospital collapse in its history,” according to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation last week. This Friday, a record 3,650 coronavirus deaths were reported in 24 hours and the pandemic has already claimed more than 307,000 lives in the neighboring country.

The average number of deaths in seven days is currently 2,400, more than triple the number at the beginning of January (703). The toll also showed on Friday that 84,245 people have been infected with coronavirus in the past 24 hours, adding a total of 12.4 million since the first case recorded in February 2020. On Thursday, the number of people infected for the first time exceeded 100,000 in one day.

With 212 million inhabitants, Brazil is the second country with the highest number of deaths and infections due to covid-19, just behind the United States.

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DA-CP