NCDC confirms 148 new COVID-19 cases as 34 doctors are infected in Kano

Chidi Samuel| One hundred and forty-eight new cases of the novel coronavirus infections were recorded in the country on Tuesday, the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control has said.

Also on Tuesday, the Nigeria Medical Association, Kano confirmed that 34 doctors in the state tested positive to the novel coronavirus.

In a Tweet on its verified twitter handle @NCDCgov, the health agency said the new cases were reported in Lagos, Kano, Zamfara, FCT, katsina, Taraba, Bornu, Ogun, Oyo, Edo, Kaduna, Bauchi, Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Sokoto and Kebbi.

The health agency further stated that the total number of COVID-19 patients in the country now is 2950, with 481 discharged and 98 deaths.

The tweet read, ”148 new cases of #COVID19;

43-Lagos
32-Kano
14-Zamfara
10-FCT
9-Katsina
7-Taraba
6-Borno
6-Ogun
5-Oyo
3-Edo
3-Kaduna
3-Bauchi
2-Adamawa
2-Gombe
1-Plateau
1-Sokoto
1-Kebbi

”2950 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Nigeria.”
Discharged: 481
Deaths: 98

-34 doctors test positive for COVID-19 in Kano

Meanwhile the Kano state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has confirmed 34 doctors have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state.

Sanusi Bala, the Kano NMA chairman, confirmed the development to NAN on Tuesday, adding that one of the cases has died.

Bala explained that many of the victims were doctors working at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and private clinics in the state.

According to him, many of them were infected through normal clinical routines while attending to unsuspected COVID-19 cases.

He emphasised the role of the association to ensure protection of its members and appealed to authorities to provide more protection for doctors through procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs).

Meanwhile, Hauwa Muhammed, spokesperson for AKTH, told NAN that the hospital had since procured and distributed PPEs to frontline workers.

She said the hospital management had ordered all consultants and heads of department to train their staff on proper use of the PPEs.

As of May 4, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had confirmed 365 COVID-19 cases in Kano, which has the second highest number in Nigeria.

The state confirmed its index case on April 11, 2020.