CHENNAI: A 40-year-old COVID-19 patient from North Chennai’s Korukkupet has been dodging civic body officials for the last one week.

“Every time we went to his house looking for him, his family said he wasn’t there,” said the officials. Finally, after being tipped off by his neighbours, Corporation officials took the help of the police and entered the house on Thursday.

The man was found and taken to the Stanley Hospital. He tested positive on the very same day. A resident of Bharathi Nagar, he was one of the thousands from the State to have attended the event at the Delhi mosque. The patient has been in the city since March 22, but when the Domestic Breeding Checkers visited last week, he was not home.  

Civic body officials went again on March 28, but his family said he was not home. “When our DBCs enquired, the family said the patient  was in Pazhaverkadu, in a relative’s house,’’ said a Corporation Official.

“For the third time, on March 31, the family again claimed he had not returned,” added officials. However, when inquired, a few neighbours admitted to seeing him around in the area. “So around 1am, our health workers and the police barged into the house and took him to Stanley Hospital, where he tested positive.”

It was found that the patient had symptoms of COVID-19, but was taking paracetamol tablets and injections from a local clinic. “The patient did not realise it would be COVID-19,’’ the official said. Now, officials have cordoned off his street and are busy with contact tracing.