MANILA (UCAN): Nine nuns have died while several others are in critical condition after a Covid-19 outbreak struck down 62 sisters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary [RVM], the biggest female congregation in the Philippines.
The nuns, aged 80 to 90-years-old, died due to a lack of vaccine, the congregation said on September 23.
“They did not receive their vaccines because their appointments were canceled. They were in grave danger because of their age,” Sister Maria Anicia Co told Radio Veritas. She said the deaths could have been avoided if vaccinations had been given in their convent. “Arrangements had been made to do that but the vaccinations did not come soon enough.”
Sister Co said not everyone in the congregation had received their vaccinations because several were bedridden and could not get to a vaccine station, adding that those who were vaccinated and infected were recovering.
On September 15, the RVM Secretariat announced, “Right now, we have 114 cases within our religious house in Quezon City. Sixty-two are nuns, the rest are their caregivers and other staff.”
Two convents in Manila, the Philippines, have gone into lockdown after more than 130 nuns and staff tested positive for Covid-19 [SARS-CoV-2], their congregations said.
“We seldom leave the convent. But from time to time we allow fully vaccinated visitors to visit especially if they are family members of our elderly sisters,” the congregation added.
The Religious of the Virgin Mary Sisters [RVM], the biggest female religious congregation in the Philippines, revealed that 62 sisters, as well as staff, tested positive for the coronavirus after swab tests on September 10.
Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit Sisters had also announced an outbreak in mid-September, reporting 22 cases including 13 nuns and nine staff members. One of the nuns reportedly died in a nearby hospital in Quezon City. An asymptomatic visitor is also believed to have been the source of the outbreak.
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Quezon City mayor, Joy Belmonte, urged the Department of Health to monitor the situation and take victims to a hospital if necessary.
“With a tight lockdown, the virus is contained within the sisters’ convent. Maybe there is a lesson that we need to learn here, that is, not to take visitors lightly. Always assume everyone is [Covid-19] positive,” Belmonte told reporters on September 16.
As of September 16, the Philippines had recorded 2.28 million Covid-19 cases with 35,742 deaths, according to government figures.
