The officers visit the Covid-19 hotspots as part of their duty.  (Photo | ANI)
The officers visit the Covid-19 hotspots as part of their duty.  (Photo | ANI)

Covid in convents and care home; church prays for answers

Besides, 27 nuns at a convent in Keezhmad and eight at a convent in Kuzhippilly have also tested positive, establishing that the Thrikkakara case is not an exception.

KOCHI: Nobody has been spared from the travails of the pandemic. While Christian missions and convents have proven their importance to society through years of service to the poor and destitute, and charitable work, the rising number of positive cases among nuns, clergy and inmates of charitable homes in Ernakulam district has authorities searching for answers as to what may have gone wrong in their Covid control measures. An astounding 44 of a total of 134 residents, including nuns, of Karunalayam, a care home and convent of the Sisters of the Destitute at Thrikkakara, have tested positive for the virus. Four of these persons have shown severe symptoms and have been shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamas sery, and pr ivate hospitals.

Besides, 27 nuns at a convent in Keezhmad and eight at a convent in Kuzhippilly have also tested positive, establishing that the Thrikkakara case is not an exception. Church authorities have swung into action to contain the virus spread, but with the sources of their infection remaining unknown, the efficacy of these efforts is under a cloud of doubt. “There is a limit to which we can contain the spread. We are a very generous people and open our doors to all those who visit us. This might have been our undoing, and we are yet to ascertain from where the nuns got infected,” said Fr Jose Vailikodath, who is in charge of Karunalayam.

According to health officials, samples of around 90 inmates of the Keezhmad convent have been tested and the results of some are yet to arrive. Sources in the Church believe that some nuns who were asymptomatic carriers may have inadvertently transmitted the infection during visits to these convents for assisting in service and nursing of inmates. The recent Covid death of 73-year-old Sr Claire of the Sisters of the Destitute (SD) convent at Kuzhippilly has sent alarming bells ringing for the rest of the nuns and inmates. Fr Vailikodath said they have converted the care home into a First-Line Treatment Centre with 37 inmates, including nuns. “I have sought the help of the MLA and ministers for converting the centre into an FLTC in the wake of the rising number of Covid cases. We are certain that more cases are likely to come up,” he said.

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