The powerful chief of staff to Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari has died after contracting the novel coronavirus, the presidency said Saturday.
Buhari's office announced in a statement that it "regrets to announce the passage" of Abba Kyari, who acted as gatekeeper to the president of Africa's most populous nation.
"The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020," the statement said.
"May God accept his soul."
Kyari, in his seventies, is the highest-profile person in Nigeria to be killed by a virus that has caused 493 confirmed infections, with 17 deaths.
Meanwhile, Tanzania has recorded 53 new COVID-19 cases raising the tally to 147, the health ministry has said.
Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu in a briefing on Friday said the new cases were reported in the commercial hub Dar es Salaam (38), semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar (10), Mwanza City on the shores of Lake Victoria (1), northern Kilimanjaro (1) eastern Pwani province (1), Lindi region (1), and Kagera in northwest Tanzania (1).
Ms Mwalimu also said that the number of deaths had risen to 5.
“We are sad to announce that we have lost one patient to Covid- 19 raising number of death to five,” Ms Mwalimu told journalists.
She added that 127 patients are in stable condition while four others are in critical due to underlying health conditions.
In Uganda, authorities are tracking a Tanzanian driver who tested positive for COVID-19 at the common border point of Mutukula.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Health on Friday night said a 34-year-old Tanzanian truck driver was tested and his results came out positive.
“Efforts are underway to track the driver and return him to Tanzania,” the ministry said.
The ministry said although the truck driver who arrived at the border from Dar Es Salaam did not show any symptoms of the virus, he tested positive.
“The Ministry of Health confirms one new COVID-19 case of the 744 samples tested among truck drivers at border points of entry,” the statement from the ministry said.
“A further 376 samples from individuals under institutional quarantine and contacts in the country tested were all negative,” the ministry added.
A total of 1,120 samples were tested on Friday, the ministry said.
“This corrects the earlier information sent on social media that the positive case was from the community,” the ministry clarified.
President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday announced that the frontline for COVID-19 was shifting to the border points, with the main target being the cargo transporters.
He said the transporters should be tested and allowed to proceed as they waited for the results to come out.
The President added that this group of people should not be allowed to interact with the community but should live at designated places.
Museveni said the same should apply to air, water, and railway cargo crew members.
The Government was, for instance, able to trace two truck drivers who tested positive to the virus earlier this week.
Uganda has so far registered 55 COVID-19 cases, with no single death.
