Concern mounts as Kano records ‘180 deaths within four days’

The recent rise in deaths in Kano state has been a source of concern to residents.

A health worker, who spoke off the record, told TheCable that 180 persons have been buried in the last four days.

Although the development comes at a time when the state recorded 59 COVID-19 cases, the third highest in the country, some health workers said the deaths are not related to the disease which has claimed over 170,000 lives across the world.

One of the sources at the Murtala Muhammad Specialists Hospital Kano said most of the deaths resulted from hypertension, anaemia, diabetics, malaria and typhoid.

 Another source also attributed some of the deaths to ulcers “as a result of hunger and poverty which requires urgent attention from the government and wealthy individuals.” 

 There has been panic in the state since the deaths went on the increase after the state recorded its first case of COVID-19. 

Areas where deaths have been reported include; Zage, Kano Municipal, Tarauni, Gwale, Kurna, Dala, Chiromawa, Zango, Kofar Mata, Fagge, Kumbotso, and some local government areas outside the metropolitan like Bichi, Kunchi, Wudil, Gwarzo, and Shanono.

Adamu Umar, a cemetery guard at farm centre, said he buried over 17 people, adding that the situation is scary, as it is unusual since he began working there in the last four years.

 On Tuesday, about 10 people were also said to have been buried at Dandolo. 

 Tijjani Hussaini, the state’s executive secretary of the primary healthcare board, said they were yet to ascertain the cause of the said deaths, but that the situation had “sent residents panicking.”

“The investigation is prompted by reports that more deaths have been recorded in the past seven days. We want to know the number of persons already dead. We also want to investigate how they died,” he said.

“It is when we have a good idea; it is when we get the outcome of the findings that we can properly draw conclusions and brief the public.”

Mustapha Hikima, the chief medical director of Nassarawa Hospital, said the areas where deaths have been recorded are densely populated which makes the number insignificant.

 “We don’t have the baseline information, but considering the high population size of Kano, the increase in the deaths is not significant,” he said. 

 “We should also take the time of the occurrence of the deaths into consideration. The time happens occasionally. So it is subjective to judge when a case happens within just three days. To me, this is not a serious problem because it happens sometimes. So I appeal to people to be calm.” 

The Kano government says it has activated community informants structure of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to report deaths and cause of deaths and has also deployed officers in all cemeteries to count bodies brought in for burial every day.

Some undertakers had expressed worries over the increasing rate of burials in the state.