Kano Confirms First Coronavirus Death

Four days after it recorded its index case of coronavirus, Kano state has confirmed its first death from the disease.

The state ministry of health announced the death in a tweet posted at 11:55 pm on Wednesday.

Details of the death were not given but the ministry said there were 21 total cases of COVID-19 in the state.

“Wednesday, 15th April 2020. As at 11:55 pm, 1 death of #COVID19 has been recorded in Kano State,” the tweet read.

Kano index patient, a former diplomat, has not traveled out of the country recently, but had been to Lagos and Abuja, and also attended a wedding ceremony and a Juma’at prayer last week.

After his case was reported, three other persons were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19, and by 10:25 am on April 15, 2020, the state ministry of health recorded five new additional cases. The five cases were said to be “persons closest to the index patient”.

At 11:23 pm on April 15, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) put the total cases in Kano at 16 but the state’s ministry of health put the total figure at 21.

As part of efforts to limit the spread of the virus, Abdullahi Ganduje, the governor, ordered a one-week “complete lockdown” of the state.