Coronavirus: Kwara announces first 2 cases

The Kwara State government has announced the state's first two cases of coronavirus, days after a suspected case's death caused panic.

In a brief statement by Rafiu Ajakaye, aide to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Monday, April 6, 2020, he said the government has received official confirmation of test results from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Staff at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin (UITH) had been thrown into panic when a patient died in the hospital last week after exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.

Even though the patient had recently returned from the United Kingdom, a high-risk country, he was said to have failed to mention his travel history, putting healthcare workers that treated him at risk.

In Monday's statement, Ajakaye said one of the confirmed cases is the deceased's wife, and the other, an unrelated case, another returnee from the UK.

"Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 sadly confirms two separate cases of COVID-19 in the state.

"One is the wife of the UITH patient, a UK returnee, who died last Thursday and the other is another UK returnee," he said.

He said that the government will address a news briefing later on Tuesday morning to provide details and announce further measures to be taken to tackle the development.

As of the time of this report, the NCDC has not announced new cases, but is expected to do so in a matter of hours.

Nigeria has recorded 232 coronavirus cases in 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, as of April 5.

33 people have recovered and been discharged, but five people have died from the disease.