HONG KONG - Hong Kong authorities are searching for a COVID-19 patient who escaped one of the city’s largest hospitals while undergoing treatment, according to health officials.

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In a statement issued on its official Facebook page on Saturday, Hong Kong police said they are hunting the 63-year-old man, identified as patient 7379, who was suspected of violating section 28 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap 599A).

According to the regulation, anyone who escapes from quarantine or isolation in a hospital commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine of HK$5,000 and to imprisonment for two months.

The man was admitted to the isolation ward of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Dec 14 after it was confirmed he had COVID-19, according to the Hospital Authority in a statement issued late Friday.

The patient is about 1.6 m tall and of medium build with short black hair. He was last seen wearing hospital patient clothes and a surgical mask

However, the man escaped the hospital ward via a stairwell on Friday and could not be recaptured. 

"At about 5 pm today (December 18), the ward staff spotted that the patient was making his way to run away from the ward. The ward staff chased him but the efforts were in vain. The patient had fled away to the staircase," according to the statement.

Hospital staff has immediately informed security but the follow-up search in the hospital compound failed to locate the patient.

The hospital said it would cooperate with the police investigation. It has also reported the incident to the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health.

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The patient is about 1.6 m tall and of medium build with short black hair. He was last seen wearing hospital patient clothes, a navy blue jacket, sports shoes and a surgical mask, according to the Hospital Authority.

The hospital called on the public to contact the police or call the hospital hotline at 35068944 if they know the whereabouts of the patient.

It is the first known case of an escape from hospital of a COVID-19 patient in the financial hub.

The city’s total number of confirmed infections stood at 7,969 as of Friday evening.

With Reuters inputs