20200226_Kuwait_corona
Kuwaiti women wear protective masks at the Mubarakiya Market in Kuwait City Image Credit: AFP

Cairo: A Kuwaiti man, who has recently returned home from Thailand, escaped from a medical centre after he was suspected of having caught the new coronavirus, a security source has said.

The man, whose age was not disclosed, went to the centre in Kuwait after suffering a rise in temperatures, the source told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.

After undergoing checks, he was suspected of having the infection and was told to go to another hospital handling the virus cases.

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But upon hearing the news, he escaped from the centre, which notified the Interior Ministry of the incident in order to find the suspect and pace him under quarantine.

Kuwait has the Middle East’s largest number of the Covid-19 cases after Iran.

In recent weeks, Kuwait has put in place a raft of preventive measures including the closure of educational institutions and restrictions on travellers from the virus-stricken countries.