Nigerian state apologises to 'runaway' coronavirus patient

The authorities in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state have apologised to a Covid-19 patient after it was erroneously announced that she had escaped from an isolation centre in the city of Maiduguri.

She was one of two patients authorities said had fled from a treatment centre. The other patient was traced to his house in Maiduguri where he was found in a "critical" condition. He is undergoing treatment in hospital.

The authorities apologised to the supposedly runaway patient when she turned herself in at the hospital.

In a statement, Borno state government said it emerged the patient was not informed that she had tested positive for the virus and needed to be in isolation.

Health officials are now tracing those who might have had contact with the two cases.

Borno state has confirmed 30 cases of coronavirus so far. It is considered vulnerable to the spread of coronavirus because of the ongoing decade-long Boko Haram insurgency that has displaced more than two million people in the state.