Durban - A ninth nun at the Assisi Convent on the South Coast in KwaZulu-Natal succumbed to the second wave of Covid-19 on Monday morning.
The nuns, who are members of the congregation Daughters of St Francis of Assisi in Port Shepstone in the Diocese of Umzimkulu, contracted Covid-19 and died days after a celebration on December 8.
“There are sisters who were admitted to hospital on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The nun who was admitted on Saturday died this morning (Monday). Ten of the sisters are in quarantine in the community. We are all facing the same storm and it requires us to be vigilant in order to wade through these trying times,” said leader of the congregation, Sister Dominica Mkhize.
It’s unclear how many nuns attended the celebration. On Sunday, Mkhize said the nuns were from different convents from various parts of the province.
On Sunday Nkhensani Shibambu, the president of the Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life of South Africa (LCCLSA), said members of the organisation were shocked and saddened by the deaths of nuns Elmara Skhakhane, Leonissa Nzimande, 78, Colleta Msomi, 78, Anastasia Mthetwa, 86, Amara Madlala, 75, Edmunda Nkomo, 80, and Helen Cele, 88.
The nun who died on Monday along with the eighth nun who died on Sunday morning have not yet been named.
Sister Shibambu said the provincial health department had visited the convent last week and tested everyone. She said 25 nuns tested positive for Covid-19.
“We can’t tell the overall number of positive tests because some results are still outstanding. We can confirm 25 because that’s what has returned. Today (Monday), the expectation was that the department would return with feedback and an assessment was expected to be carried out at the convent to check if the living arrangements for the sisters were in line with the preventative measures for Covid-19. Those who tested positive are in quarantine.”
She did not have the figure for those who attended the celebration at hand. “However, the sister who passed today (Monday) was not at the function. She could have contracted the virus when she came into contact with one or some of those who did attend. It’s difficult to tell because the strain seems to be stronger than when the virus first hit the country.”
Shibambu declined to discuss health and safety measures during the celebration.
Bishop William Slattery of the Roman Catholic Church, Mariannhill Diocese, said the passing of the nuns was a great loss to the communities they served, especially the poor.
“They did a lot of work for the schools, churches and communities throughout their lives. We are saddened in Mariannhill that they will be buried because of Covid-19. We all, including the government and the media, need to send as much information as possible about this deadly virus to the people especially in rural areas because people there are inadequately informed,” he said.
Health department spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said: “The department has indeed responded to the cases at Assisi Convent and decontamination of the environment was done immediately after the recording of cases. Personal protective equipment which includes masks, sanitisers and gloves have been provided. A water tanker has also been provided by the municipality.”
He said the department has isolated and quarantined all staff who fitted each criterion and other districts have also been roped in for the ongoing contact tracing of other parishioners who attended the event hosted by the convent.
Daily News