The 29-year-old woman who was the third positive case for coronavirus in Ekiti State has been confirmed dead.
The woman died at the Intensive Care Unit of Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, on Wednesday.
The woman, who was a health official in Lagos State and was pregnant, sneaked into Ekiti State last week before she fell into prolonged labour leading to the discovery that she had contracted the virus.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, who confirmed the woman’s death in Ado-Ekiti at a media briefing said the woman died around 6.58am on Wednesday.
Yaya-Kolade regretted that the patient infected a 45-year-old medical doctor who had now been identified as the fourth case by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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According to her, “The woman showed signs of stability on Monday, but unfortunately, her condition deteriorated yesterday and we lost her exactly 6.58am today.”
On whether her body will be released to the family, Yaya-Kolade said the state would take precaution and comply with the World Health Organisation’s safety rules on the burial .
“We are going to meet with the family on her burial. We are going to consider safety despite that there was assumption that the virus is not active in corpse, because we don’t know much about the virus.
“But whatever we are going to do won’t be against the interest of the family. But let me assure you that the state will also be on the side of safety,” she stated.
She said the hospital where the patient died had been sanitised after the death of the woman, urging the patients and members of the public not to stigmatise the hospital or be afraid of patronising it.
She added that all the 78 persons who had contacts with the deceased and the medical doctor had been traced and placed in isolation.
