Super-Spreader Santa Leaves 75 Positive After Paying A Visit To Belgium Care Home

Hanima Anand |Dec 16, 2020

The man had felt ill and tested positive some days before his visit, but he didn’t strictly follow the protocols. Result is 61 old-aged residents and 14 staff of the care home have been infected.

The unfortunate incident occurred in Antwerp, Belgium last week. A Father Christmas, the legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, paid a visit to spread Christmas cheer to 150 residents of Hemelrijck care home.

However, instead of spreading cheers, he spread the Covid-19 to 75 people in total. And this number might not stop there. More seriously, 61 out of these patients are elderly.

No social distancing, not all wear masks

During the Santa visit, the care home officials said that measures had been applied to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the pandemic. Nonetheless, in the pictures sent to residents’ families, the Santa Claus did not follow social distancing rule at all.

That’s not to mention some people were not wearing masks at the time.

Super Spreader Santa In Belgium — Photos show that the super-spreader Santa did not practice social distancing at the care home.

The care home was criticized as ‘totally irresponsible’ while the Santa visit was referred to as a ‘stupid idea.’ Experts and administrators in the region believed there were many infections from this super-spreader outside the care home as well.

They also pointed out that the poor ventilation system in the nursing home might be the cause of the mass infection inside the building. Therefore, local health officials would need to measure the CO2 level at this place.

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Super-spreader tested positive 3 days before the visit

Responding to the media, the mayor of the city promised ‘all hands on deck’ to put the virus under control. Multiple forces such as local health workers or the Red Cross would join to kick the virus out of the care home.

What made the administration more shocked was the man who role played Santa had felt ill and tested positive with the Covid-19 three days before his visit. However, this person ignored strict protocols from health officials and continued his plan.

Coronavirus In Belgium — Belgium is having a record death rate but many residents do not take it seriously.

Belgium currently has the highest number of Covid-19 deaths per million of population in the world. The last Sunday recorded nearly 5,000 new confirmed cases in this country.