COVID-19 Confirmed Case from 'Sarangjeil Church' Who Escaped Hospital Caught... Visited Coffee Shops in Jongno and Sinchon

Caught 25 Hours After Escape
Investigation Expected to Take Time

Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Paju Hospital. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A man in his 50s, a member of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, who escaped while receiving isolation treatment at Gyeonggi-do Medical Center Paju Hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, was caught by the police 25 hours after his escape.

According to Paju City and the police on the 19th, Mr. A, the 177th confirmed patient from Pyeongtaek City who escaped from Paju Hospital the previous day, was apprehended by the police at around 1:15 a.m. at a coffee shop in Sinchon, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

There were about 40 customers in the coffee shop, and the quarantine authorities carried out quarantine measures. Mr. A was transported back to Paju Hospital by ambulance and reportedly underwent a COVID-19 retest.

An employee of Paju Hospital entered the room where Mr. A was receiving isolation treatment at around 8 a.m. on the 18th to deliver meals and found that Mr. A was not there. The hospital confirmed through closed-circuit television (CCTV) that Mr. A had left the hospital main gate at 12:18 a.m. and reported it to the police at around 8:10 a.m.

Mr. A then took a bus to Seoul at around 4:30 a.m. and was confirmed to have stayed for about an hour at a coffee shop in Jongno-gu at around 9 a.m. Mr. A’s irrational escape was stopped only after 25 hours by the police’s capture.

Mr. A is known to have been infected with COVID-19 after attending a worship service at Sarang Jeil Church on the 9th of this month. However, since Mr. A must receive isolation treatment, it is expected that the police investigation into the reasons for his escape will take some time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.