A 78-year-old man has died of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Delta State, bringing the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state to six.
Commissioner for Health, Dr Mordi Ononye, made the disclosure in a statement on Wednesday.
According to him, the latest death occurred early Wednesday at the Central Hospital, Warri.
He said the patient was referred from a private hospital in Warri to the COVID-19 Treatment Centre, Central Hospital, Warri.
Ononye further stated that the patient who was brought in at about 2 am was already unconscious when he arrived at the hospital.
“The patient had been in the private hospital for days before he was referred to the treatment Centre where he died within three hours of arrival.
“Since the index case of COVID-19 was detected on April 7, 2020, Delta State has recorded a total of 28 cases from the 425 persons tested so far in the state,” Ononye said.
The commissioner explained that five of the recorded deaths were of persons between the ages of 47 and 78 years, who all had one pre-existing illness or the other.
He listed some of the pre-existing illness to include, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and chronic liver or kidney disease.
Ononye also disclosed that one of the six deaths was that of a young man of 20 years who had been suffering from a blood cancer and anaemic heart failure.
According to him, the condition of the young man had compelled him to frequently visit hospitals for treatment, including blood transfusions.
The commissioner said Delta has so far recorded 28 confirmed cases, six deaths, while 12 persons had been discharged and 10 active cases still being managed across the treatment centres.
The commissioner advised private healthcare providers that suspected cases should be promptly referred to the government treatment or holding facilities for further evaluation in order not to lose time in determining the status of the patients.
