The Nigerian Union in South Africa (NUSA) says that 11 Nigerians have so far died of COVID-19 in South Africa.
The President of NUSA, Adetola Olubajo, said in a statement from Pretoria on Wednesday that the COVID-19 deaths were for Gauteng Province alone, adding that it was yet to get figures from eight other provinces in South Africa.
“At the last count, 11 Nigerians have died from COVID-19 in Gauteng Province alone. I have attended the funeral of some of them,’’ he said.
According to Mr Olubajo, the disease is real and has devastated several countries of the world.
He said that the biggest challenge is the belief by some Nigerians in South Africa that the disease is not real.
“Many people believe that COVID-19 pandemic is political and fake and that they are just seeing figures.
“On the contrary, we have seen quite a number of our people that have died from the disease in South Africa.
“Another challenge we have is stigmatisation and refusal of infected people to disclose their status.
“We have provided a channel through which the identities of infected people will be protected and we give them the much-needed support.