A 78-year-old COVID-19 patient on Wednesday died at the Central hospital in Warri, bringing the total number of coronavirus deaths to six in Delta State.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mordi Ononye, who disclosed this in a statement, said the 78-year-old male patient was referred to the COVID-19 treatment center from a private hospital in Warri by 2 am on Wednesday. He was unconscious when he was brought in.
He said the patient had been in the private hospital for days before he was referred to the treatment Centre where he died within 3 hours of his arrival.
He said, “Since the index case of COVID-19 was detected on April 7th, 2020, the State has recorded a total of 28 cases which were from the 425 persons tested so far in the State.
“Five of the recorded deaths were between 47 and 78 years of age and they all had one pre-existing illness or the other, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and chronic liver or kidney disease.
“One of the deaths was that of a young man of 20 years who had been suffering from blood cancer and anaemic heart failure that took him to the hospital frequently for treatment, including blood transfusions.
“As of date, the state has recorded 28 confirmed cases, 6 deaths, 12 discharges, and 10 active cases still being managed in our treatment centers.
“It is obvious from the recorded deaths that the most vulnerable persons among us are those who have pre-existing illnesses and are elderly.”
Dr. Ononye urged private hospitals to promptly refer suspected COVID-19 cases to the government health facilities for further evaluation in order not to lose precious time in determining the status of the patients.
