The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said investigations into strange deaths in Kano State in April showed that between 50 and 60 per cent of the 979 deaths in the state were caused by COVID-19.

A WuzupNigeria calculation showed between 489 and 587 deaths from the 979 recorded were covid19 related.

Ehanire said the committee that investigated strange deaths in Kano had submitted its report, noting that graveyard records and verbal autopsy revealed that the majority of the recorded fatalities were above 65 years of age.

In April, no fewer than 800 people were reported to have died of illnesses that could not be explained. But the state government said that the deaths were not caused by COVID-19.

Ehanire said,

“With regard to unexplained deaths in Kano, which occurred in April, the team confirmed from graveyard records, that a total of 979 deaths were recorded in eight municipal LGAs in the state at a rate of 43 deaths per day, with a peak in the second week of April.

“By the beginning of May, the death rate had reduced to the 11 deaths per day it used to be. The verbal autopsy revealed that about 56 per cent of deaths had occurred at home while 38 per cent were in hospitals.

“With circumstantial evidence as all to go by, investigation suggests that between 50 and 60 per cent of the deaths may have been triggered by or due to COVID-19, in the face of preexisting ailments. Most fatalities were over 65 years of age.”