COVID-19: Nigerian deaths second-highest in West Africa

The most populous nation in West Africa, Nigeria, on Wednesday (22nd April) reported a total of 28 fatalities from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria, a country with about 200 million population, with its 28 deaths from coronavirus, is the nation in West Africa with the second-highest fatalities.

Burkina Faso which has the highest number of deaths caused by the COVID-19 has recorded 39 deaths. In total, there are 6,232 confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease across West African countries. 159 people have lost their lives to the virus while 1,805 have recovered so far.

Other West African countries that have recorded death(s) caused by the coronavirus include: Niger (22); Mali (17); Cote d’Ivoire (14), Ghana (9); Liberia (8); Senegal (6); Guinea (6); Togo (6); Benin (1), Siera Leone (1), Gambia (1); and Capo Verde (1), according to Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the live Nigeria lost to the coronavirus pandemic was the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari. He died on Friday, April 17.

However, by comparison, Nigeria with its population of around 200 million people has only carried out lesser than 8,000 COVID-19 tests. Ghana on the other hand, with population of about 30 million has conducted 68,000 COVID-19 tests while South Africa, with 58 million people, has carried out about 114,000 tests. Vanguard