150 Deaths in Bauchi ‘Not COVID-19 Related’ — Governor

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150 Deaths in Bauchi ‘Not COVID-19 Related’ — Governor

The governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, on Sunday confirmed that at least 150 persons have died from both unknown and natural causes in Katagum local government area of the state, in the past weeks.

He, however, said except for a confirmed case, the deaths were not caused by COVID-19, a deadly respiratory ailment which has claimed thousands of lives globally.

Mr Mohammed gave this information amidst disturbing rumours that scores of persons have been dying from COVID-19 related diseases in parts of Bauchi, which share a common boundary with Kano and Jigawa States.

A former federal lawmaker, Ibrahim Baba, startled many Nigerians when he wrote ‘save our soul’ letter to President Muhammadu Buhari alleging that about 300 persons have been buried in a part of Bauchi State after dying of COVID-19 related complications.

A copy of the letter, which was addressed to the president through the office of the Secretary to the government of the Federation, circulated on the social media last week.

The letter, dated May 8, 2020/was titled “massive COVID-19 outbreak in Azare: request for urgent action!” was signed by the federal lawmaker, Mr Baba.

In the letter, the former House of Representatives member informed the president of the “massive outbreak of coronavirus in Azare town and environs in Bauchi State, which has already resulted in over 100 fatalities in the last one week.”

Mr Baba highlighted that “the centrality and proximity of Azare to Bauchi, Kano and some major cities of Jigawa State make the town’s large population susceptible to the virus due to the already existing large cases of the disease in those areas.”

He said the situation in Azare went on unreported because the media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic concentrated on “state capitals and other more prominent cities.”

He appealed to the presidency to direct the NCDC to urgently reach out to Azare town with all the necessary facilities and palliatives to assist the communities there, adding that the situation in Azare was “a matter of life and death.”