…COVID-19 accounts for 60% of Kano mysterious deaths
Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has disclosed on Monday that at least 60% of Kano mysterious deaths State were caused by COVID-19.
The presidential task force sent its team to the northern commercial hub late April to examine “verbal autopsies” following the report of Daily Trust of a spike in deaths totaling 150 people in Kano.
The result of the investigation according to the Minister revealed a total of 979 deaths recorded in 8 local government areas at a rate of 43 deaths per day, as against the usual death rate of roughly 11 deaths in a day.
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“With circumstantial evidence as all to go by, investigation suggests that between 50-60% of the deaths may have been triggered by or due to COVID-19, in the face of pre-existing ailments,” Ehanire said.
He further revealed that the high rate of deaths happened in the second week of April, and that by the beginning of May, the death frequency had subsided to the normal rate.
Meanwhile, Kano State government had said the deaths were caused by complications from hypertension, diabetes, meningitis and acute malaria, but not coronavirus pandemic.
It should be noted that the Federal government declared to ease the lockdown in the state this month, which began in April.
The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria has hit 12,486, and 999 are from Kano, with a total of 354 deaths.
