Visiting Santa in Kovid infected to take care of a Belgian home kills 18 residents after 121 epidemics break out
- Santa was welcomed into the care home of 150 residents in the mall town of Santa Antwerp
- Three days after he tested positive for Covid-19, a panic erupted in the care home.
- Santa is said to be remorseful, the mayor calls the house ‘totally irresponsible’
Some residents of 18 care homes have now died of coronavirus after an infected Santa Claus visited Belgium.
Earlier this month, 121 residents and 36 staff at the Hemlergic Care Home in Mott, Antwerp, were infected by black-faced helpers known as Sinterclass and Zveret Piet (‘Black Peat’).
Pictures of the man wearing St. Nicholas surfaced two weeks ago and since then the ‘supersprider’ has been blamed for the rising mortality of the house.
Five more elderly residents died the day before and on Christmas Day, and at least one was given oxygen treatment.
Father Christmas fell ill and tested positive for Covid-19 three days after the visit, prompting health officials to begin testing at home.
The Sinterclass-dressed volunteer was welcomed to spread the Christmas cheer among 150 residents of the Hemelizak Care Home in Mall, Antwerp (pictured: residents enjoying mulled wine and oranges like Santa and his jeweled peat (‘Black Peat’) assistants visiting the house).
The house claimed to have seen a social-distance, but Sinterclass was pictured being pict bha very close to the elderly residents.
Santa and his assistants chat with residents of the care home. Her assistants are on black faces and dress like Zwarte Peat (‘Black Peat’), a controversial traditional character in parts of the Netherlands and Belgium.
The mayor of Mall Wim Sears told local media: ‘We expect ten difficult days. It has been a very dark day for the care home.
‘It’s a great mental stress to endure for the man playing St. Nicholas, as well as the organizers and staff.’
But photos of the event show that not all residents wore masks and that Santa and his younger assistants were within two meters of the elderly.
Mr Sears said: ‘Initially [the care home] Said the rules were followed, but then immediately you get photos of the families of the residents where you can see that was not the case. ‘
The Care Home has been described by his administration as ‘a completely irresponsible institution’.
The mayor said local health workers, the Red Cross and the governor of Antwerp would help in the wake of the crisis talks on Sunday, with “all hands on deck” to bring the virus under control.
A spokesman for the firm, which manages the house, said: “The team is shocked by what has happened, but it is very encouraging for them to get the virus out again.”
However one of Belgium’s top virologists has expressed doubts that the Santa Claus volunteer can bring many infections.
“Even for a super-spreader, these are a lot of infections at once,” said Mark Van Runst of KU Leuven University.
Father Christmas talks to an elderly resident. He and his assistant appear to be standing close to two meters from it
Hemalijpk Care Home Mall, in Antwerp, run by the firm Armona
The number of daily infections in Belgium has increased in recent days, with 2,762 on Saturday and another 4,978 on Sunday.
He believes the cause of poor ventilation is much higher and CO2 should be measured by local health officials.
However, he added that visiting Santa during the epidemic was a ‘stupid idea’.
Belgium has the worst coronavirus death of its million population in the world.
There were 2,342 new coronavirus cases reported in the country on Christmas day, in which 51 people died.
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