Aliyu Yakubu, a medical doctor based in Katsina state, has died from the complications of COVID-19.
Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, broke the news at a media briefing on Tuesday.
He said the doctor aged 60 died at the Nigeria Air Force Reference Hospital in Daura, three days ago.
The governor said the deceased owned a private hospital in Daura and had visited his Kogi, where he hailed from, and later travelled to Lagos.
Masari said on returning to the state, Yakubu became ill and was admitted to the hospital, where he died.
He said the deceased’s samples were taken to the Nigeria Centre for Decease Control (NCDC) for diagnosis before his death, and he was confirmed positive for coronavirus.
“We have received a bad news of COVID-19. The deceased’s samples showed COVID-19 positive. Before his death, he was also diagnosed with hepatitis and hypertension three years ago,” he said.
The governor said the state medical response team was in Daura, taking samples of all those that had contact with the doctor before his death.
This is the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Katsina. The doctor’s death brings to six, the total number of deaths from complications of COVID-19.
In its last update on Monday, the NCDC said there were 238 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.
A breakdown of the cases are:
- Lagos- 120
- FCT- 48
- Osun- 20
- Oyo- 9
- Edo- 11
- Bauchi- 6
- Akwa Ibom- 5
- Kaduna- 5
- Ogun- 4
- Enugu- 2
- Ekiti- 2
- Rivers-2
- Benue- 1
- Ondo- 1
- Kwara- 1
(The Cable)
