Man-Hunt Launched For Siavonga Covid-19 Escapees

Police in Siavonga district have instigated a man-hunt for four men who were being quarantined at a Covid-19 isolation centre after being deported from Zimbabwe for illegally fishing in Lake Kariba. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Siavonga District Commissioner Lovemore Kanyama said that four of the ten detainees escaped from an isolation centre on Thursday and Friday. 

He explained that the quarantined group had been arrested in Zimbabwe last week before being deported back to Zambia after one individual tested positive for Covid-19. 

The district commissioner said that, once apprehended, the escapees would “receive good punishment”. 

Mr Kanyama went on to explain to explain that authorities are still awaiting further tests to see whether the escapees had the coronavirus and that the public would be informed in due course. 

He condemned the escapees for their drastic course of behaviour, saying that individuals running away from medical treatment was becoming an alarming pattern.

“The system of patients escaping is becoming a bad habit in the district. Last year, it was a cholera patient who escaped from the hospital. A team of officers from the health department and Siavonga police command must go flat out in searching for the four individuals as they are a danger to the society,” Kanyama said. 

Siavonga District Commissioner Lovemore Kanyama