A new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) spread after a volunteer dressed as’Santa Claus’ went to a nursing home in Belgium, killing about 20 people. There were more than 100 confirmed cases in nursing homes.
A nursing home in Flanders, Belgium, where the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. The outbreak killed 26 inmates. [가디언 캡처]
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The tragedy began with a volunteer event. On the 5th of last month to commemorate St. Nicholas’ holiday, volunteers visited a nursing home in Flanders, Belgium, dressed as Santa Claus. Among them, a volunteer dressed as Santa Claus showed symptoms of Corona 19 after the event, and was tested positive later on.
One week after the volunteers visited, 61 nursing home residents and 14 employees were confirmed one after another. Subsequently, as the scale of the group infection increased, so did the deaths.
Belgian Flemish health authorities told AFP that “111 confirmed cases, including 40 employees, died, and 26 inmates died.” “It is not yet clear whether the COVID-19 outbreak started with volunteers who went to nursing homes (who tested positive).”
However, Dr. Mark van Lanst, a renowned virologist in Belgium, pointed out that it is highly likely that all of them were infected by one person after examining the samples of confirmed patients in nursing homes.
According to the Guardian, the local authorities explained in a statement immediately after the outbreak of the group infection, “Volunteers followed the rules of distance from residents, and both volunteers and residents were wearing masks.” However, the photos at the time of the event revealed that the residents did not wear masks.
In a later statement, the local authorities said, “We received misinformation from management. I will never tolerate it.”
However, the health authorities said that there was no evidence that the volunteers knew that they were infected at the time of their visit, and that there was no official complaint, so the investigation of the volunteers had not started.
Belgium is one of the countries with the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world, with over 11,000 residents of nursing homes, more than half the number of COVID-19 deaths.
Reporter Seok Kyung-min [email protected]
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