A Belgian "Santa Claus" contracted the new crown and visited a nursing home in 75 cases of positive one person died

Christmas is approaching, but the COVID-19 epidemic in many countries has not yet seen a significant improvement. And "Santa Claus", who visits the nursing home and takes intimate photos with children, may also "send poison thousands of miles".

CNN reported on December 14 that a man dressed as "Santa Claus" may have infected 75 people with COVID-19 and 1 death after visiting a nursing home in Belgium.

"Santa Claus's visit to a Belgian nursing home may have infected 75 people with COVID-19," a screenshot of the report

On the 12th, the Belgian city government of Mohr said in a statement that the nursing home "misjudged" and approved the visit.

The statement also said "in-depth scientific research" was needed to determine whether the trip was the cause of the outbreak at the agency.

So far, 61 recuperators and 14 staff members have tested positive for the virus. One of the convalescences died, the other had severe symptoms, and the "vast majority" of infected people were currently asymptomatic.

Every year on December 6, Belgians are used to waking up to see if "Santa Claus" has left a gift. The man who plays "Santa Claus" is the son of a recuperator who was found to be infected with the new crown virus after visiting the nursing home.

The municipality said he "did not feel uncomfortable at the time" and that "the activity was not approved in advance by the 'crisis center' or he would have received a proposal against it".

In addition, "the manager assured the municipality that 'Santa Claus' only went to the common areas, including the seating area." He always kept his distance from others, stayed around for only a few minutes, and did not distribute gifts. ”

Coincidentally, according to the New York Times reported on the 15th, on the 10th, a couple in Georgia, USA, dressed up as "Santa Claus" outdoors and held a group photo with about 50 children. On that day, the annual Christmas parade and lighting ceremony was held in the area.

But three days later, the couple learned they tested positive for the coronavirus.

Officials said the couple wore masks, but many of the children who took photos with them did not, nor did they know if any of the children had sat on santa's legs. After the activity, they developed symptoms of new crown and were tested on the 12th.

The official added, "They are both good men and would never deliberately put anyone in danger." ”

Officials recommend that any child who has had contact with the couple should be quarantined for 14 days and follow CDC guidelines.

However, before they were tested for the virus, some of the children who participated in the event went to school. Testing for children who may have been exposed to the virus has not been recommended.

After "Santa Claus" was found to be infected, local officials received a lot of criticism for organizing mass rallies, but it was alleged that "hate mail came from other states, and there were very few local ones." ”

The Lang County Committee, which took place, even issued a statement, in which the chairman of the committee said, "I believe I can say on behalf of most of them that we still support the Chamber of Commerce's decision to continue these festive traditions and bring some normal feelings to difficult times." ”

In Germany, with the advent of the Christmas season, on December 9, local time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke loudly in the Federal Parliament, saying that it would promote stricter lockdown measures and pleaded with the German people to reduce social activities and frequency of going out, especially during the Christmas holiday, to reduce the spread of the new crown virus.

She said emotionally: "This is not an area I know well, and I don't want to interfere." Suffice it to say that if we had too much contact on Christmas Eve, which would have been the last Christmas we would have spent with our grandparents, we would have done something wrong and shouldn't have let that happen. ”

But according to German media reports, the far-right populist AfD party has made sharp criticism of Merkel.

The party's leader, Alice Weidel, has publicly called for an end to "counterproductive lockdowns that do more harm than good" and slammed Merkel's approach to the pandemic as "aimless and absurd" and about locking up people and destroying all industries in the country.

This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.