As COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in the United States, the pandemic has taken a terrible toll on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Latham. In December, nine sisters died there with COVID-19 as nearly half of the residents grew up in a rebellion at the regional home that affected 47 sisters and 26 workers since October. .
“Like all members of our global community, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet has struggled with the horrific consequences of COVID-19. We mourn the loss of nine dear sisters of this terrible disease,” he said. St. Joseph Sister Joan Mary Hartigan, director of the Albany Division of the order.
In a statement to the Evangelist, Albany Episcopal newspaper, Sister Joan Mary said of the 47 sisters, most have recovered, but three sisters at the provincial house are receiving treatment from the doctors. their personal for the virus. The nine sisters who died were aged between 84 and 98. Twenty workers who tested positive have recovered while five workers quarantined at home.
She said the home follows all guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health “to limit the spread of the virus to the maximum extent possible, taking its toll. -include the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, quarantine sisters who are COVID -19 positive and prohibit public access. “
She said: “We pray that the growing number of cases across our country is temporary, and we mourn the loss of not only our nine sisters but also the loss of our lives during We look forward to the vaccination and the end of this worldwide health crisis. “
The Albany Times Union first reported on the sisters’ death Dec. 30.
The regional house of order in Latham, seven miles from Albany, is the headquarters of the Albany Division and is home to 114 sisters; many are retired and in need of long-term care.
Since Thanksgiving, events have taken place across the country and in New York. And with the recently celebrated Christmas and New Year holidays, many fear that the worst are yet to come in January. The favorable rate, based on a seven-day average, which has been as high as 12.4 percent in Albany County, is currently at 10.5 percent and 10.8 percent in Schenectady County, according to the COVID- 19 of the state.
“All of us at the Diocese of Albany are praying for the sisters at this challenging time,” said Mary DeTurris Poust, communications director for the Diocese of Albany. loved ones who have served others so unhealthily for decades, the added problem is that they are unable to identify their life as a community because of the limitations of COVID. For so many loved ones who have lost loved ones in the last few months, the work of grieving is already made even more difficult by loneliness and lack of closure. “
The recent rise in diseases and deaths is all the more interesting when you consider the strict procedures that the sisters have undergone since the onset of the pandemic such as ending public access and visiting the provincial house, taking in from other sisters, and canceling events, meetings and programs.
The sisters’ deaths follow the COVID-19 deaths of eight sisters in mid-December in Milwaukee who had been living at the Notre Dame facility in Elm Grove.
Just like with the St. Joseph Sisters, the Sisters of Notre Dame School of Central Pacific Province, based in St. Joseph, learned. Louis and who cares for the sisters at a Wisconsin health facility about a positive issue in the community around Thanksgiving Day. The first death apparently occurred on December 9, but the deadliest day came on December 14 when four sisters died. Many of these sisters had become teachers.