•Lagos records two more deaths
•Anambra index case visited Awka, Onitsha
•Kano’s first case ‘attended wedding’
•Delta gets third infection
•Niger slams curfew

By Chioma Obinna, Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Vincent Ujumadu, Festus Ahon and Bashir Bello, Shina Abubakar, Wole Mosadomi

President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Nigerians to bear the pains of restriction of movement to curb coronavirus, saying no one is coming from outside the country to defeat the virus for us.

Buhari spoke on a day two deaths were recorded from the virus in Lagos while seven patients were discharged.

This brings to 50 the total number of patients successfully managed and discharged from Lagos isolation facilities, according to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

13 new cases of the virus were announced yesterday by the authorities to bring the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 318.

Also yesterday, Kano State recorded its first case of coronavirus.

Reports from Anambra indicated that the state’s index case discovered on Friday visited Awka and Onitsha before travelling to his home town, Adazi in Anaocha LGA, where he was admitted in hospital.

President Buhari, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Shehu Garba, was quoted as saying that the defeat of coronavirus in Nigeria rested squarely in the hands of Nigerians.

Shehu  did not mention where his principal spoke.

Buhari said, “But at this darkest hour, it remains our duty to offer you the full and unvarnished truth: This is a global pandemic. 210 countries and territories across the globe are affected. We cannot expect others to come to our assistance. No one is coming to defeat this virus for us.

“Instead, the defeat of the virus in our country will be in our hands, alone. We cannot wait for others. We can only depend on ourselves now.   And so we must   – and we will – end this outbreak ourselves as Nigerians, together.

Lagos deaths

One of the deaths recorded in Lagos was in a private hospital while the other happened at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

Announcing the deaths in private hospital on twitter handle -@ProfAbayomi – the state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, stated: “We are however saddened by the death of another patient from #COVID – 19 related complications in a private hospital in Lagos. Please keep obeying #SocialDistancing rules to #StaySafe #For AgreaterLagos.

READ ALSO: (Breaking) COVID-19: Delta confirms third case

LASUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof Adetokunbo Fabunwo, confirming the death in the facility, said the corpse of the patient had been evacuated to Yaba isolation centre.

Four hospital staff, who managed the patient, according to Fabunwo, had been identified and isolated.

He explained:  “The patient came here on Wednesday. She had a delivery somewhere outside LASUTH, but she had complications of severe infection.    She had pneumonia, and diabetes mellitus.

“So our very intelligent doctors found that, apart from all those things that were wrong with her, suspected coronavirus and universal precautions were taken by all the staff that was handling the case.

“Also, we got the people from NCDC to come and take the sample while we were treating her but eventually she died this morning.”

The deaths bring to four the total number of coronavirus fatalities recorded in Lagos.

Anambra index case

Indications emerged, yesterday, that the COVID -19 index case discovered in Anambra on Friday visited Awka and Onitsha before traveling to his home town, Adazi, and was admitted at St Joseph’s Hospital in the town.

“The case was first treated as a mild malaria unknowingly at Regina-Caeli Hospital, Awka. He left and later traveled to Onitsha, before returning to Adazi-Nnukwu Hospital where it was finally suspected to be Covic-19, after exhibiting the symptoms. Result came in and it was positive”, one person familiar with the case told Sunday Vanguard.

The source could not confirm if the index case visited any hospital in Onitsha, or other places he visited in the city before returning to Adazi.

According to him, the index case, who returned from Lagos, was already in Anambra before the closure of Niger Bridge between Asaba and Onitsha.

The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba, said, shortly after the National Center for Disease Control, NCDC, confirmed the incident, that contact tracing had begun.

The Commissioner also confirmed that the index case was already in the state before the border closure.

Kano first case attended wedding – Ganduje

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday, confirmed that Kano State recorded it first coronavirus patient, a 75-year-old retired ambassador.

The governor  said nine persons who had contact with the patient had tested negative while others were still being traced.

Ganduje said the patient had been moved to the Kwanar Dawakin Kudu Isolation Centre.

“He has no history of traveling abroad recently, at least for the last six weeks. But his medical records have shown that he had heart complications and probably this has aided in this particular circumstance which he found himself”, the governor said.

“But what we are busy doing now, especially the medical team is to trace his contacts right from the time he came back to Kano from Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja on the 25th of March 2020.

“It was discovered that he attended marriage ceremony, so a census has been taken of those who came in contact with him and right now they have been pushed and samples of them taken.

“He also attended a Friday Mosque prayer last Friday. Those who were in contact with him were identified and their samples are being taken”.

“Also in his house, those who visited him, as well and we learnt that he went to a friend’s house and had dinner, the house owner was requested to make himself available for the test which he did and also made his entire family members available”.

Delta confirms third case

• Asks Christians to worship at home today

GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday, confirmed the third case of coronavirus in Delta, urging Christians to worship at home, today, Easter Sunday.

Okowa, on his verified Facebook handle, said: “We have just confirmed the third case of #COVID19 in Delta State. The patient, a male, was diagnosed today (yesterday) in Asaba, our state capital and is currently being managed by our healthcare professionals in one of our isolation centers.

“The patient is currently in a good state and responding to treatment; and we have already began to track all those that have had contact with him.

“The confirmation of this third case further reinforces our call for social distancing and a lockdown. All Christians should worship at home tomorrow.

“Again, I thank you all for your cooperation over these past few days, and I will continue to keep you all updated on any new developments”.

Niger slams 24 – hour curfew

Reports from Niger State said government had slammed 24-hr curfew on residents with effect from tomorrow (Monday).

This followed the discovery of one case of coronavirus in  Minna, the state capital, two days ago.

Governor  Abubakar Sani Bello  said the decision was arrived at after a  meeting of the Executive   Council with the COVID – 19 TaskForce in Minna yesterday.

Vanguard