Kano State Confirms Its First Case Of Coronavirus As Total Figure Rises To 318 In Nigeria

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has confirmed that the state has recorded its first case of coronavirus which has now infected 318 persons across the country.

Speaking at the Government House on Saturday night, Ganduje said the Kano index case is a 75-year-old retired civil servant and former Nigerian Ambassador.

Ganduje said the state government took the blood samples of 10 suspected cases to Abuja three days ago in which nine came out negative, while that of the former Ambassador was positive.

He described the development as sad, pointing out that the state will take more drastic measures to ensure that the situation does not escalate. Ganduje said:

“A 75-year-old retiree and a former ambassador who travelled to Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos and came back to Kano on 25th March. He was not feeling fine for the last few days and voluntarily invited our medical team, who took 10 samples.

“After the sample was returned, it (was) found out that he is positive while the other nine (samples) were negative. It is confirmed today that we have a positive case of COVID-19 in Kano. He has no history of travelling abroad in the last six weeks. Also, his medical report shows that he has a heart problem which aggravated his case,” he said.

Mr Ganduje said the patient is currently at Kwanar Dawaki isolation centre receiving medical attention.

“What we are doing now is tracing all his contacts. Samples were also taken from some of those who had contacts with him,” he said.

The samples taken, according to the governor, were taken to the just commissioned Kano testing centre, at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

Mr Ganduje ordered the immediate closure of the private hospital where the patient first visited when he was ill.

The Kano index case was among the 13 new cases of coronavirus confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday night.

On its Twitter page, the NCDC said 11 cases were recorded in Lagos and one each in Delta and Kano States. It said 70 patients have been discharged and 10 others killed by the disease.

https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1249072371979427840?s=20