PARIS (AP) – A 116-year-old French nun believed to be the second oldest person in the world has survived COVID-19 and hopes to celebrate her 117th birthday on Thursday.
The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people believed to be 110 years old or older, lists France’s Lucile Randon (sister André’s birth name) as the world’s second oldest living person.
French media report that Sister André tested positive for the virus in mid-January in the southern French city of Toulon. But just three weeks later, the nun is considered recovered.
“I didn’t even realize I had any,” he told the French newspaper Var-Matin.
Sister André, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, didn’t even care when she was diagnosed.
“He didn’t ask me about his health, but about his habits,” David Tavella, the communications manager at the nursing home where the nun was, told the newspaper. “For example, I wanted to know if they would change their meal or bedtime. He showed no fear of illness. On the other hand, she was very worried about the other residents ”.
Not all the residents of the house shared the fate of Sister André. In January, 81 of the 88 residents tested positive for the virus and about ten died, according to Var-Matin.
Once doctors declared that the nun was no longer infected, she was allowed to attend Mass.