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Published 11:01 IST, March 11th 2020

Russia sues woman for escaping hospital from coronavirus checks

A 32-year-old Russian woman who was quarantined for coronavirus escaped the hospital and officials are attempting to bring her back to the hospital by force.

Reported by: Sounak Mitra
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A 32-year-old Russian woman who was quarantined for coronavirus reportedly escaped the hospital and officials are attempting to bring her back. According to the reports, the woman has been identified as Alla Ilyina, who is currently in her flat in the city of St Petersburg, refusing to open the door to the police. The woman reportedly returned from China last month and said that she tested negative for the virus on February 6 but was told to remain quarantined for two weeks. As per the reports, the government has sued the woman after she ran away from Coronavirus checks. 

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Woman escaped hospital

Ilyina reportedly disabled an electronic lock at the hospital and fled. Ilyina, a university graduate with a diploma in physics, reportedly said on her Instagram account that she had a sore throat after returning to Russia from China on January 30. 
According to the reports, on February 6 she decided to call an ambulance and was put in the Botkin clinical infectious disease hospital in Russia's second-largest city. She tested negative for the coronavirus but the authorities in order to take precautions ordered to stay in the hospital for two weeks. Ilyana reportedly said that all three tests showed that she was absolutely healthy. 

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She added that she short-circuited the electronic lock and escaped the hospital. She reportedly drew a map of the building to plan her escape route. Ilyana said that the city authorities did not take any actions for almost a week and are forcefully seeking a court order to forcefully bring her back to the hospital to stay quarantined until February 19. 

Meanwhile, Russia's consumer safety watchdog announced on March 10 that people must avoid public transport, shopping malls, and other public premises during peak hour as a precaution to stem the coronavirus spread, a media report confirmed. The Rospotrebnadzor watchdog recommended that the social gathering at events, sports, entertainment shows must be restricted, and events must be cancelled.

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4000 deaths worldwide

As the new coronavirus that has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide raises international concerns, Russia has at least 20 people infected with the disease as of March 10, confirmed reports. The country has stepped up containment measures to curb further spread and tackle health emergencies. Russia has imposed travel restrictions by sealing the entry points along the 4,200-kilometer border with China, announcing returning nationals to self-quarantine for 14 days. The Moscow health authorities threatened five-year detention in case the infected patients refused to quarantine as per agency reports.

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Pic Credit: ALLA ILYINA/INSTAGRAM

11:01 IST, March 11th 2020