Fears Kano COVID-19 Scenario Repeating In Jigawa

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

The precarious situation in Kano State that has seen dozens of unexplained deaths could be repeated in Jigawa State, Daily Trust has reported.

The newspaper reported that dozens of people, mostly of advanced aged died in Hadejia Local Government Area of the state, from May 1st to May 5th 2020.

Recall that Kano has been awash with reports of the death of prominent personalities in Kano, which local authorities had initially claimed were unrelated to COVID-19.

Daily Trust reported that many of the deaths in Jigawa happened between May 1st and May 5th, and the cause was associated with high fever, diabetes and high blood pressure. It was the same situation in Kano that led to the authorities there saying it was not linked to COVID-19 until a recent turn around.

Confirming the incident, Abdullahi Umar Namadi, Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Hadejia General Hospital, said the hospital recorded only 13 deaths from May 1st to May 5th.

He noted that the deaths were not related to COVID-19, while noting that most of the deceased were asthmatic, diabetic, and patients with high blood pressure.

“Of course, most of them had a high fever when they came to the hospital but that does not mean they were infected by COVID-19,” he said.

The Chairman of the Local Government Area, Abdullahi Mai Kanti noted that only 51 deaths have been recorded within the four days, adding that the deaths are unconnected to COVID-19.

“I can confidently confirm to you that it is not true that over 100 people died in Hadejia in just one day. Going by our record, even the 51 deaths were recorded within four days which is not unusual,” he said.

Some of the residents who spoke with the newspaper said they have attended burial rites of at least 15 people within the week.

Adamu Danwawu, a resident of Dalla quarters who lost his relative, said he had attended the burial of 15 people who died in the area within a week, noting that five other people had died but he was unable to attend their funerals.

“Most of the deceased were old people with terminal diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and or kidney complications. Most of them were males,” he said.

Sabo Sani of Sabon-Garu quarters, also confirmed the death of 15 persons in his community, adding that he attended majority of the deceased burial rites.

According to him, the deceased comprising 12 males and three females were advanced in age.

Abdullahi Saleh of Gagulmari said most of the victims were aged between 60 and 80 years.

He said though cases of death are common during Ramadan, this year’s toll appears strange.

“One of the women that lost her life recently was hale and hearty five days to her demise. The woman suddenly died on Monday,” he said.

Meanwhile, the state government has set up a five-man committee to probe the cause of the recent deaths in Hadejia Local Government Area.

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