Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Task Force on COVID-19 has identified a 60 years old patient, brought from Usman Dan Fodio Teaching Hospital (UDTH) as the second patients to die of the novel Coronavirus in the state.
Chairman of the Task Force, Alhaji Muhammad Jafaar who is the Commissioner for Health in the state, while briefing newsmen on Saturday on the development, explained that the patient was diabetic and hypertensive before contracting the virus and added that 29 contacts linked to the patient had been traced.
«The second case was a patient from Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Birnin Kebbi with diabetes and hypertension. He was 60 years old. He was brought from Usman Dan Fodio Teaching Hospital, Sokoto by a relative to Birnin Kebbi.
« And when a consultant was invited, COVID 19 was suspected and our response team was called and sample collected on 25 April, 2020.
«Before the patient was taken to isolation centre, he died on 26 April, 2020. We later realised that his corpse was taken to UDU, Sokoto mortuary against the earlier provision made.
«On the 29 April, 2020, the result of the disease turned positive of COVID 19. From then, our contacts tracing team swung into action and traced 12 closed contacts and 17 other contacts. All samples have been collected and sent to the laboratory for testing».
Jafaar explained that the management of the UDU, Sokoto have been contacted, stressing that they are working together with task force to curtail the virus.
He urged the people of the state to remained calm, adding that the state has received technical support from the NCDC on the case management.