9 nuns die from Coivd-19 after outbreak on the campus of the Dominican Sisters Adrian in Michigan

Now, nine have died of the disease after an outbreak with 48 of the 217 campus residents tested positive. Thirteen active cases of Covid-19 remain and 26 are recovering, said Adrian Dominican Sisters in a statement.
“We spent nine months keeping the coronavirus under control. Just before Christmas, he showed up, ”Sister Patricia Siemen told CNN affiliate WDIV. Siemen is the prioress or leader of the order.

“It’s dope,” she said. “I have a much deeper appreciation for all the other families that have gone through this. The hundreds of thousands of families. And until I touch you personally, I don’t care how much we can have a caring heart, it’s different when you’ve been there and lost someone. “

The nine sisters – Dorothea Gramlich, 81, Helen Laier, 88, Jeannine Therese McGorray, 86, Charlotte Moser, 86, Esther Ortega, 86, Mary Lisa Rieman, 79, Ann Rena Shinkey, 87, Margaret Ann Swallow, 97, and Mary Irene Wischmeyer, 94 – died between 11 and 26 January. Most of the sisters were already at high risk due to existing health problems, WDIV reported.

All women served in the communities as teachers or nurses during their lifetime of religious service.

Convent outside Detroit lost 13 nuns to Covid-19, with 12 dying in a month
It is the most recent of several such outbreaks in convents. Eight nuns who lived in Notre Dame of Elm Grove in Wisconsin died from Covid-19 in one week last year. In a convent outside Detroit, 13 nuns died in a month, starting on April 10.
Our Lady of Angels Convent in Greenfield, Wisconsin, lost six nuns in an outbreak last year.

Among the 363 campus co-workers, 60 tested positive, with 15 active cases, according to ADS.

Residents on Motherhouse’s campus and more than 50 of the organization’s frontline employees received the Moderna vaccine on January 15, and more coworkers continue to be vaccinated, ADS said.

“The care and safety of our sisters and co-workers has been and remains our primary concern. We continue to practice rigorous protocols, including dedicated floors for COVID-19 patients, quarantines in our communities and weekly testing of all residents and Co – workers to mitigate the spread of the virus, “said the statement.

The sisters are a religious order of more than 500 women with votes and 211 members in 22 states in the United States, Dominican Republic, Philippines, Mexico and Norway. The order has been based on the Motherhouse campus since 1884.

CNN’s Alta Spells contributed to this report.

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