A Nigerian medical doctor residing in Italy has died due to coronavirus, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health, Adeleke Mamora has confirmed.
Olumide Okunuga, 63, was reported to have contracted the disease in Canada and died recently.
Italy is Europe’s worst-affected country with over 20,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths.
At a press conference held on Monday, the Minister confirmed the death of the doctor while dispelling reports that the disease doesn’t affect blacks.
“We must be conscious of not being complacent, the price to pay for complacency is huge. I have heard people say that the black man’s gene is resistant and so COVID-19 is not for us. Don’t forget, some black men even from Africa, even from Nigeria have died, unfortunately. We heard the story of one doctor who lived in Italy, a Nigerian, a black man.”
So we should not get carried away. There are a lot of things known about COVID-19 and there are still things unknown. We have to be very careful about believing claims that are yet to be fully validated, he said
While responding to calls for the government to reveal the identity of the Italian man who is the index case of the disease in Nigeria, Mamora said such an action would be against the patient confidentiality clause which offers him protection.
If you recall the case of the Nigerian doctor that lived in Italy but died in Canada or something. His daughter was called to identify him from a distance, he said.
