The Kano State Investigative Panel on Mysterious Deaths has said that only 15.9 per cent of the recently recorded mysterious deaths in the state was COVID-19-related, as against the 60% assertion by the report of the Ministerial Taskforce Team.
Recall that on Monday, June 8, the minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, had said that 60 per cent of recent deaths recorded in the state had been linked to COVID-19 infection.
Mr Ehanire, who made the disclosure in Abuja at the Presidential Taskforce, PTF, briefing, said the figure followed the outcome of an investigation by the Ministerial Taskforce Team which visited the state recently.
According to the minister, it was observed that 50 to 60 per cent of persons above the age of 65 died of COVID-19 related cases while others died due to neglect or delay in treatment.
However, while submitting its verbal autopsy report to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Tuesday in Kano, the state investigative panel, led by Dr Mukhtar Gandanya, said that only 255 people died from novel coronavirus-related cases.
According to Mr Gandanya, findings show that 70 per cent of the deaths was due to hypertension, diabetes and other illnesses.
He said that 60 per cent of those who died were males while 40 per cent were females, and 76 per cent above 50 years.
According to the researcher, who is also the Head of Department of Community Medicine at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, 1, 774 people died between April 1 and May 2, in the eight metropolitan local government areas of the state.
“Kano Municipal has the highest number of the mysterious deaths while Tarauni Local Government recorded the highest number of COVID-19 related cases.
He commended the state government for efforts in containing COVID-19 and training healthcare workers.
He urged the government to strengthen death registration at the community level.
Receiving the report, Ganduje said that it had put to rest hypothesis on the mysterious deaths.
The governor said that the report of the Federal Government attributing about about half of the deaths to COVID-19 lacked variables and correlations.
“I am going to personally take the Kano Verbal Autopsy Report to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehinare,” he said.
