Kwara State Government has announced the death of a coronavirus (COVID-19) patient, the first in the state.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, who is also spokesman, Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19, Rafiu Ajakaye, said in a statement on Saturday that the victim, a male, had recently arrived Kwara from Lagos with his wife and a child shortly after he suffered stroke at his Lagos base.
“Before his death, the government had treated him, his wife and their child as suspected cases and samples were taken from them. The results of their samples came back positive,” the statement said.
The man died before his family got to know about their COVID-19 status. He has been buried accordingly.
The statement said everyone involved in the burial has had their samples taken for COVID-19 test.
“Because of the peculiarity of this development, the Rapid Response Team has moved in to bring all those involved into the isolation centre, including the wife and the child.
“We pray to God to repose his soul. We urge citizens to see COVID-19 for what it is: a deadly and highly contagious virus that requires adherence to all safety protocols, including obeying the lockdown order. We repeat that there is no shame or blame in contracting the virus as this is a global pandemic from which no one is immune.
“We commiserate with his family on this painful development while also wishing all of our patients quick recovery,” the statement said.
The government also announced four new positive cases of COVID-19 — from those who sneaked into the state from the northwestern axis of the country.
This brings to 28 the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kwara State. Of these, 19 are active while nine have been discharged. All active cases are asymptomatic.
