Kano ‘Strange Deaths’: We Should Be Ready To Accept Whatever The Autopsy Says – Presidency

The Presidency has said the ongoing verbal autopsies in Kano state will explain the mysterious deaths in the Northern state of Kano.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the finding will identify the precise cause of the sudden deaths in recent days in the state.

He urged Nigerians to be ready to accept whatever the autopsy says and continue to curtail the rate of deaths in the state.

He added that the President is with the people of Kano State and will not let them down during this trying time.

According to him, “Nigeria is only weeks into our fight against the invisible COVID-19 that, earlier this year, was unknown to almost every nation in the world.

“There is much that remains unknown about this virus. What we do know is that global infections rates continue to rise each day – even when in some nations affected some time before Nigeria, the daily rate of infection is now slowing.

“We know too that there is a global shortage of personal protective equipment, virus testing kits and other medical devices required to fight this pandemic. And we also know that in each and every country there are some cities and regions more severely affected than others.

“In Nigeria, there are currently verbal autopsies underway in Kano State to identify the precise cause of the sudden and rapid increase in mortality in recent days.

“While some may wish to believe that there are other causes at play here like hypertension, diabetes, meningitis, and acute malaria’, there are others who say it is COVID-19.

“We should be prepared to accept the medical and scientific result of the autopsies and work together to confront the common enemy.

“What we know all over the world is that communities with similar socioeconomic dynamics like Kano have found as very helpful, the sort of lockdown measures now imposed, with markets and other public places of worship shuttered more strictly.

“The President and his government are with the people of Kano State and will not let them down.

“If there is reason to believe that the mortality rate in Kano due to COVID-19 is out of control, it will spell a serious development to which the best action would be for the Federal government and state government to work more tightly together to find solutions and implement together.

“There is no time for energy wasted on political point-scoring, whether by current or former holders of office – or for any differences between state and federal administrations to be publicly aired. This is no time for talk. Our common purpose is to preserve the lives and health of citizens”.

BIGPEN reports that over 640 people over the last two weeks had died mysteriously in Kano, fueling fears that the coronavirus pandemic could be responsible for the unknown deaths in the land.

According to NCDC latest report, Kano has 139 confirmed cases of coronavirus with Wednesday addition of 24 cases and probably a few other unreported cases due to lack of adequate testing. So far, three death has been reported in the state in the last two weeks of COVID-19.

Nigeria currently has 1728 cases of coronavirus across 34 states and the FCT, 307 discharged cases with 51 deaths.