At least 26 residents of a Belgian retirement home have died from a volunteer visit disguised as Saint Nicholas who has received positive confirmation for Covid-19.
The deaths at Hemelrijck’s home in Mol, near Antwerp, have prompted the local city to criticize “utterly careless” organizers for the Christmas trip, although the cause of the disease is not yet certain.
The uprising came after a visit on Dec. 5 by volunteers dressed as Saint Nicholas and his assistant Zwarte Piet, organized by the management of the nursing home. The white-bearded, red statue of St. Nicholas, no Sinterklaas, giving gifts to Belgium every 6 December.
But within days, residents had shown symptoms of coronavirus. Twenty-six have since died and a further 85 have tested positive for coronavirus, along with 40 workers.
In a statement, the Mols district initially stated that the volunteer entered only “common areas, such as the seating areas”.
“He was always keeping a distance from the residents, staying anywhere longer than a few minutes and wearing a mouth mask. Residents also wore mouth masks, ”said the village.
But after photos of the incident surfaced revealing that residents had not been wearing masks during the trip, the city issued a clarification.
“We have received incorrect information from management,” the second statement said. “We are very sorry. After looking at several pictures, we have to conclude that this goes far beyond error. Instead, it is a completely reckless event. We would not have agreed to this at all. ”
Prominent pathologist Marc Van Ranst has reported on Twitter that most of the diseases came from the same source.
Regional health spokesman Joris Moonens said no investigation had been launched without a formal complaint. There is no suggestion that the volunteer knew he had the disease.
An emergency manager has been hired for Hemelrijck, which housed 169 people ahead of the Covid revolution, to help staff, residents and relatives deal “in these difficult times”.
Belgium has one of the highest per capita coronavirus death tolls in the world, with more than half of those who died – 11,066 people – being retired home residents.
Armonea, the company that runs the residential care home, said their employees had taken the appropriate steps to keep residents safe.