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Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A former Chief Medical Director (CMD), Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Professor Saqid Wali has expressed concern over the growing number of COVID-19 positive cases in Kano State.
The professor, who was one time personal physician to four Nigerian past presidents and heads of state, including the late General Sani Abacha, told Daily Sun on phone although he could not verify the report that there was a surge in the number of death persons in the state. He however, confirmed that people are testing positive for COVID 19 in the state.
He explained that he was not in the state at the moment but added that, “we heard of this story. I asked the people from NCDC and they moved in and they are testing people and finding them positive.”
He argued that “to the extent that people were being tested and they were returning positive, you cannot entirely rule out that report.”
He advised the residents of the state to abide by the directive of the health authorities managing the disease in the state by washing their hands regularly and ensuring they keep to the required social distance in their interaction.
Meanwhile, a professor of Haematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Usman Yusuf has cautioned that, “there is a disaster currently unfolding in Kano with the rising death rates, particularly among the elderly.
In his article to some media houses, he stated that “while some may explain this increasing death rates (as connectred) to the lack of medical care for the chronically-ill due to the lockdown (which in any case is poorly observed and enforced in Kano), we should not forget that these same pre-existing medical conditions make the elderly more vulnerable to infection and death by COVID-19.”
He added that “Kano, the most populous city in Nigeria will if urgent measures are not taken now, become the epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent.
“I have always believed that based on the epidemiology of the virus, the population dynamics, negative socio-economic factors, the state of healthcare and infrastructure in the city, Kano alone will have more positive cases than the whole country put together.
“But, because we were not testing, we did not find. We are now seeing more cases because the test center in Kano has started working just two weeks ago,” he stated
