BRUSSELS – Authorities in Belgium say a 27th old man died in a coronavirus outbreak at a health facility at a St. Nick over-spreading party last month, but they hope the situation is now under control.
The Hemelrijck home in the town of Mol, in northern Belgium, had organized a visit on December 4 of a troupe playing the beloved saint who usually spreads joy and gifts. But the city and the families of some of the deceased complained that the nursing home should never have organized the party when restrictive measures on events were in place across the country to contain the pandemic.
The municipality of Mol said that “the event was not coordinated with the crisis cell” and if they had heard about it, they would have stopped it.
The municipality said on New Year’s Eve that a 27th person had died.
At Hemelrijck nursing home, no one was available for comment on Friday. At the last count, the house had 88 infections among residents and 42 among employees.
Lily Lenaerts, whose sister Angele, 85, was the first to die after the outbreak, is upset about how the nursing home is treating family members.
“I have not yet received a condolence card (from the nursing home) and I have been visiting for four years,” she told Het Laatste Nieuws.
Saint Nicholas is the traditional December 6th for giving gifts and is much more important for children in Belgium than Santa Claus on December 25th, which is mainly a family gathering.
Initially, one of the actors in the St. Nick group was considered the source of the outbreak, but subsequent research could not be entirely conclusive.
The eminent virologist from Belgium, Marc Van Ranst, said that “it could not be said with 100% certainty that he introduced him to the asylum”. He added “the man was a volunteer at the asylum and theoretically could have been infected by a resident or a member of the staff. “
The city said the outbreak was finally stabilizing.
“The health status of residents has improved markedly,” the city said in a statement.
Belgium, a nation of 11.5 million, has been severely hit by the pandemic, with 19,528 virus-confirmed deaths so far, many of them in nursing homes.