According to reports, dozens of residents of a Belgian nursing home have died of coronavirus since a volunteer Santa Claus who visited the facility tested positive for the disease.
St. Nicholas visited the Hemelrijck home in Mol on December 5 at an event organized by the facility’s management and, days later, many residents began to exhibit symptoms of COVID-19, The Guardian reported.
WZC Hemelrijck, a retirement home in Mol, Belgium, on Monday, December 14, 2020. (ERIC LALMAND / BELGA MAG / AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to 26 deaths, an additional 85 residents and 40 staff members tested positive for the virus, the report said.
SANTA CLAUS VISITS TO NURSING HOME IN BELGIUM UNLEASHES CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKS OF AT LEAST 75 INFECTIONS
The municipality of Mols blew up the event after photos emerged showing residents without masks.
“We are deeply sorry that, after looking at several photos, we have to conclude that this goes far beyond a mistake,” the municipality of Mols said in a statement to the Guardian.
“On the contrary, it is a completely irresponsible event. We would never have approved that, ”said the municipality.
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The cause of the outbreak is not certain and a formal inquiry has not been launched, the report said.
This article first appeared in the New York Post.