Visit from Covid-infected Santa Claus to a care home in Belgium kills 18 residents after 121 get sick in the outbreak
- Santa Claus was welcomed in the care home of 150 residents in the city of Mol, Antwerp
- Three days after she tested positive for Covid-19, she caused fears at the nursing home
- It is said that Santa Claus is full of remorse, the mayor calls home “totally irresponsible”
About 18 residents of the nursing home have now died of coronavirus after an infected Santa came to visit Belgium.
Sinterklaas and his black-faced assistants, known as Zwarte Piet (“Black Spot”), infected 121 residents and 36 employees at the Hemelrijck nursing home in Mol, Antwerp, earlier this month.
The images of the man dressed as Saint Nicholas appeared two weeks ago, and the “superspreader” was blamed for the increase in the number of deaths in the house at that time.
Five more elderly residents died on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and at least one was treated with oxygen.
Father Christmas fell ill and tested positive for Covid-19 three days after the visit, prompting health officials to begin home tests.
The volunteer dressed in Sinterklaas was greeted to spread Christmas joy among the 150 inhabitants of the Hemelrijck nursing home in Mol, Antwerp (pictured: residents enjoying mulled wine and oranges while Santa Claus and his helpers Zwarte Piet (“Black Spots”) visit the house)
The house claimed that social distancing was observed, but Sinterklaas was photographed sitting very close to elderly residents
Santa Claus and his helpers talk to the residents of the nursing home. His helpers are dressed in black and dressed in Zwarte Piet (“Black Spot”), a controversial traditional character from the Netherlands and parts of Belgium.
Mayor Mol Wim Caeyers told local media: “We expect up to ten difficult days. It was a very dark day for the nursing home.
“It is a very big mental disorder to bear for the man who played the role of St. Nicholas, as well as for the organizers and staff.”
But the images of the event showed that not all the inhabitants wore masks and that Santa Claus and his little helpers were less than two meters from the elderly.
Mr Caeyers said: “In the beginning [the care home] said that the rules were followed, but immediately receive photos from the families of the residents where you can see that was not the case. ‘
His administration called the care home “a totally irresponsible organization.”
The mayor said he would be “all hands on deck” to bring the virus under control, with local health workers, the Red Cross and the governor of Antwerp helping, after Sunday’s crisis talks.
A spokesman for Armonea, the company that manages the home, said: “The team is very shocked by what happened, but that also makes them very motivated to get the virus out again.”
However, one of the top virologists in Belgium expressed doubts that the volunteer Santa Claus could have caused so many infections.
Marc Van Ranst of KU Leuven University said: “Even for a super-spreader, these are too many infections at once.”
Father Christmas is talking to an elderly resident. He and his assistant appear to be about two meters away from her
Hemelrijck care home in Mol, Antwerp, which is run by Armonea
In recent days, Belgium has seen an increase in the number of daily infections, 2,762 on Saturday and another 4,978 on Sunday.
He believes that poor ventilation is more likely to be the cause and that CO2 measurements should be taken by local health officials.
However, he added that Santa’s visit during the pandemic was a “stupid idea”.
Belgium has the worst coronavirus deaths in a million of its population in the world.
The country registered 2,342 new cases of coronavirus on Christmas Day, with 51 dying from