JOHANNESBURG - The minister of state for health in Nigeria, Adeleke Mamora has advised citizens against being complacent and naive as according to him, most people believed that black man’s gene resisted the Coronavirus.
Vanguard reported that Mamora was addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday after a Nigerian doctor died from the virus.
“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. Olumide Okunuga, a Nigerian doctor who lived in Italy, was reported to have contracted the disease in Canada.
“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.”
Mamora said calls to reveal the identity of the index case are contrary to the patient confidentiality clause, which offers him protection.
“[In] the case of the Nigerian doctor that lived in Italy but died in Canada ... [his] daughter was called to identify him from a distance.” he said.