Doctor dies of coronavirus in northern Nigeria

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Kano, in the north of the country, says that one doctor has died after testing positive for coronavirus.

State NMA chairman, Dr Sanusi Mohammad Bala, told the BBC that 33 other doctors had also tested positive, but they were in a stable condition. There are around 1,500 doctors in all in Kano state.

Private hospitals provide over half of all healthcare in the state. But they have been closed due to coronavirus fears, placing a large strain on the public facilities.

Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control has sent a support team to Kano after gravediggers reported a higher than usual number of people dying. The investigation is ongoing.

Kano now has the 397 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the second highest number in Nigeria.

Thirty-two cases have been confirmed in the northern state in the past 24 hours.