Akwa Ibom, Borno record first COVID-19 deaths

According to data from the NCDC, with the two new fatalities, no fewer than 21 persons have died from coronavirus-related complications in Nigeria.

Other states that have recorded fatalities from COVID-19 are Lagos – 13, one each in Edo, Katsina, Kano, and Delta, and Abuja – two.

The NCDC added, “On the 19th of April 2020, 86 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Nigeria.

“Till date, 627 cases have been confirmed, 170 cases have been discharged and twenty-one deaths have been recorded in Nigeria

“The 86 new cases are reported from seven states- Lagos (70), FCT (seven), Akwa Ibom (three), Katsina (three), Borno (one), Bauchi (one), Jigawa (one).

“A multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre, activated at Level three, continues to coordinate the national response activities.”

Before the NCDC’s announcement, the Borno State Government said it was expecting the test result of a dead nurse working with MSF in Pulka, Gwoza Local Government Area.

The PUNCH reports that Abba Kyari, the Chief of staff to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is one of the 21 deaths of COVID-19 recorded in Nigeria.

The late CoS had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19 and moved to a private facility in Lagos, where he died on Friday, April 17.

Kyari tested positive for coronavirus in late March after visiting Germany, forcing a string of top Nigerian officials, including governors who had been in contact with him to self-isolate.

Kyari, 67, is the highest-profile COVID-19 death in Nigeria, The PUNCH reports.

There has been no official confirmation on whether Buhari took a test, but the president had imposed a lockdown on Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja.

Governors have also introduced several measures in their states to curb the spread of the virus.