At least seven Almajiri returnees from Kaduna have tested positive for COVID-19 in Niger state.
The State Commissioner for Health and Hospital Services, Dr Muhammad Makusidi, disclosed this on Saturday.
He also said the state has recorded its first COVID-19 death, a 40-year-old diabetic taxi driver plying the Suleja-Abuja route.
The deceased had given up shortly on arrival at the Suleja General Hospital.
The Commissioner said a postmortem sample was taken for test and it returned positive, stressing that contact tracing will commence with immediate effect.
So far, Niger state has recorded a total of 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases as on Saturday evening.
Makusidi, on Saturday, revealed that eight new cases had been confirmed after the state sent 22 samples for testing to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Of those eight, seven are Almajiri returnees from Zaria, Kaduna state.
A number of Almajiri children have tested positive for the virus even as Northern state governments seek to return them to their parents amid the coronavirus pandemic.