The patient who is Jamaica’s first confirmed case of monkeypox has absconded the health facility where he had been put into isolation pending his recovery.
Reports are that after noon today, the patient – who presented to the public health system on July 5, having arrived in Jamaica some five days earlier from the United Kingdom – left through a bathroom window of the facility and had a car waiting. The police have been called in and are investigating.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts are asked to contact the police immediately.
“Monkeypox is a viral disease that can be transmitted from person to person. It is therefore important that anyone with knowledge of the patient’s whereabouts contact the police so that he can be returned to isolation, pending the resolution of his illness,” said Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton.